SPL Betting Preview: There will be bad blood at Ibrox

Scottish Football / John Girvan / 21 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Aberdeen can expect a special welcome when they play Rangers this Saturday, says John Girvan as he looks ahead to the crunch clashes North of the border this weekend.

No matter what happened in Scottish Football this week it would have taken something quite extraordinary to steal the limelight from Diego Maradona.

The iconic figure took his side to Hampden on Wednesday night, the very ground he made his international debut on, and the arrival was startling with the great man himself leading a chorus on the team bus that was joined with a clamour of stamping feet and superstar palms slapping the windows.

It's just how we, the punters, arrive at the grounds of our fiercest rivals and it was great to see modern day professionals getting as pumped up for the occasion, a friendly remember, as we do.

Aberdeen supporters have a bitter dislike for all things Glasgow Rangers and they will be arriving in Govan in a similar fashion on Saturday. There is a lot of bad blood between the two sides and being one of the Follow Follow brigade myself I can confirm that a trip to Pittodrie is a lot more intimidating than being in the blue corner at Celtic Park.

It's the opposite at Ibrox of course and those who make the journey from the Granite City will receive a special welcome as always. It's not the most sporting of relationships but it gives the atmosphere something extra that perhaps a game against anyone other than Celtic lacks and what is football without rivalry anyway?

Home advantage is crucial in this fixture with Rangers boasting four wins and two draws in the last six Ibrox league meetings. It is a different story at Pittodrie however where in the same period Aberdeen have a record even Celtic can't match with four victories, two draws and just one defeat. The sides played out a 1-1 in Aberdeen back in August but Rangers will feel they should have taken all three points given Da Marcus Beasley had a perfectly legitimate injury time winner ruled out for offside.

Celtic of course took their SPL winning streak to ten consecutive games last weekend so Rangers need for the points stays the same and they cannot afford any slip-ups in the run in to December's Old Firm showdown at Ibrox.

The hosts are without Kenny Miller who has a calf injury but they have strength in depth and will do enough to deliver in the match odds at a short [1.35]. It's worth pointing out they have won by at least two goals on each of The Dons last three visits and Rangers -1.5 goals in the Asian Handicap trades at [2.08]. Rangers/Rangers in the Half-Time/Full-Time Market is less of a risk however at [1.95].

St. Mirren will be looking to complete a home double over the Old Firm on Saturday. Back to back home wins over the two biggest sides in the country would be a remarkable way to sign off from Love Street as they move to a new stadium in ten weeks time.

The 1-0 home win over Rangers in September was the Paisley side's first since 1986 and you have to go back to the 1989/90 season for the last time Celtic lost here. The likelihood is that Celtic will grind out a win and match the run of 11 consecutive wins that Gordon Strachan's side achieved in 2005/06. They can also go a massive seven points clear of Rangers with this match kicking off at 12:30pm and being screened live on Setanta Sports 1.

The match odds certainly point to this with Celtic a very slim [1.35]. It should be noted that you would have got a return on St. Mirren +1.5 goals on each of the three times they have faced the Old Firm this term and at [1.55] or greater it might appeal again on Saturday.

Elsewhere, third placed Dundee United ([1.56]) should be backed to put last weekends defeat at Kilmarnock behind them with a home victory over bottom club Hamilton Accies. United were on a run of ten consecutive games without a loss and one defeat doesn't make them a bad side. They have also won their last five home games and face an outfit with only one point to show from their last eight league fixtures. Confidence might be slightly higher in the Hamilton camp given the effort they put in against Celtic but it was still a defeat and they must be starting to think that even their best isn't good enough for the SPL.