Scottish Football / John Girvan / 28 August 2009 / Leave a comment

There's been no early season blip from John Girvan so far - he landed a multiple last weekend - but can Betting.Betfair's man north of the border keep up the good work?

"The Gers and the Accies met four times last season. Rangers won each of these encounters by at least two goals or more and look well positioned to carry on this trend. Rangers – 2.0 should be available in the Asian Handicap Market at around [1.8]."

It all went to plan once again last weekend as Hibs came from behind at Falkirk and Celtic overcame a two goal handicap at home to St Johnstone. It was one goal a piece late on at Tynecastle before Kris Boyd scored a last minute penality to deliver both Over 2.5 goals in the match and the Old Firm multiple.

Profit/Loss: +8.86pts

It's only two games into the new SPL season but there are already fears for Billy Reid's Hamilton. 3-0 defeats at both Kilmarnock and at home to Aberdeen last week were a cause for concern. As too was Wednesday nights 2-1 Co-op Insurance Cup defeat at Ross County in which they were said to have been outplayed for long periods of the match. There is no hiding place for the Lanarkshire side however as next up is a trip to Ibrox.

Rangers are calling on the depth of their squad already for this one. Kyle Lafferty serves the last of his three match ban and Kevin Thomson misses out after last week's straight red card in his comeback. Edu and Novo remain on the treatment table but Pedro Mendes should make a welcome return. Miller and Naismith have started the season brightly in attack and elsewhere Walter Smith has the strength in depth to cover games of this ilk.

The sides were drawn here in both domestic cup competitions last season and hence met in Govan a total of four times last term. The visitors lost all of these and shipped a massive 17 goals in the process with the Accies notching just two. The Gers won each of these encounters by at least two goals or more and look well positioned to carry on this trend. Rangers - 2.0 should be available in the Asian Handicap Market at around [1.8].

Dundee United should be fancied in their home clash with Falkirk on Saturday. They failed to impress in a goalless encounter at St Mirren last week but Craig Levein's men got back in amongst the goals at Alloa in midweek and could build on the opening day home win over Hearts. Here they are up against a poor Falkirk side who are pointless having conceded seven goals in their first two games and defeat number three looks imminent. Dundee United are available in the Match Odds at [1.68].

Celtic need to get over Wednesdays Champions League exit quickly if they are to improve on a poor recent record at Hibernian. Sundays Easter Road match up is live on ESPN and it will bring back some unpleasant memories in the Celtic camp. A 0-0 draw here in May handed Rangers the initiative in last season's title race and elsewhere the visitors have yielded just one win and one draw from their last six league visits.

John Hughes will be delighted with the start he has made in Leith. In the league Hibs followed up a home win over St Mirren with another spirited victory at Falkirk. They fought back from a goal down in each encounter and racked up a 3-0 win over Brechin during the week who they eased past in the second round of the League Cup. Riordan and Stokes could add what was arguably all that was missing from his Falkirk side.

The recent stalemate aside Hibs have only failed to net against Celtic once in those said last six home meetings so 'No' in the Celtic Clean Sheet Market could be worth backing at [1.7] (or higher come Sunday). Up front Fortune broke his duck against St Johnstone last week but was out of sorts at the Emirates on Wednesday and it's possible Samaras and McDonald will spearhead the attack. Mowbray and Hughes both like to play attacking football and it all give rise to Over 2.5 goals at [1.84].

The match odds market is interesting as despite the miserable recent record, Celtic remain strong favourites at a slightly short [1.71]. It's worth noting that the hosts are a similar price to that of Falkirk ([6.2]) for a win at Tannadice on Saturday. All things considered there is value in the [5.8] on offer for Hibernian.

Recommendations:

Rangers -2.0 at around [1.8] (1pt)

Dundee United at [1.68] (1pt)

Celtic clean sheet: 'No' at around [1.7] (1pt)

Hibs v Celtic: Over 2.5 goals at [1.84] (1pt)

Hibs at [5.8] (1pt)

Tags: Celtic, Hearts of Midlothian, Hibernian, John Girvan, Rangers, Scott McDonald, Scottish Football Betting, SPL Betting, Walter Smith