Hibs v Dundee Utd
Hibs
Injuries - Clancy, Deegan
Available Squad - Williams, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Claros, Cairney, Wotherspoon,
Stevenson, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Stanton, Caldwell, Handling,
Kuqi, Sproule, McGivern, Taiwo, Antell
Probable XI : Williams, Mayburn, mcPake, Hanlon, McGivern, Wotherspoon, Claros, Taiwo, Cairney, Doyle, Griffiths (4-4-2)
Dundee Utd
Injuries - Douglas, Vignal
Available Squad - Cierzniak, Watson, Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Flood, Rankin, Ryan,
Russell, Daly, Dow, Armstrong, Millar, Gardyne, Robertson, Skacel,
Gauld, Douglas, Hilson, Banks. Mackay-Steven
Probable XI : Cierzniak, Watson Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Flood, Rankin, Ryan, Mackay-Steven, Daly Russell (4-4-2)
Prediction : Hibs 1-2 Dundee Utd
Dundee
Utd hold a serious hoo-doo over the dirty Hibees. Hibs only have 1 win
inthier last 14 meetings but Hibs are strong at home this season
unbeaten in 6 with 4 wins. Utd had to play an extra match midweek but I
dont see that as a negative. With gary mackay-Steven back in the team
and the firepower that Daly and Russell provide I think Utd will be too
strong for Hibs defence which I still think is vunerable. All in all I'm
taking DUNDEE UTD WIN @ 2.75 (CORAL)
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Celtic v St Johnstone
Celtic
Injuries - Izaguirre Rogne, Forrest, Hooper, Lassad
Available Squad - n/a
Probable XI : Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Ambrose, Mulgrew, Ledley, Wanyama, Kayal, Commons, Watt, Miku (4-4-2)
St Johnstone
Injuries - C. Davidson, Cregg, Pawlett, Beattie, Adams
Available Squad - Mannus, Mackay, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade,
Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, McCracken, Miller, Caddis, Scobbie,
Tobin, Kane, Tuffey, Gray, Vine, Moon
Probable XI : Mannus, Miller, Anderson, Wright, Mackay, Millar, M Davidson, Craig, Mclean, Tade, Vine (4-4-2)
Prediction : Celtic 2-1 St Johnstone
Obviously
Celtic suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Kilmarnock after they played a
midweek Champions League match away to Barca and again here after their
epic win to Barca on Wednesday there will be question marks over their
tiredness. Celtic pumped St Johnstone 5-0 in the league cup at Parkhead
only a couple of weeks ago but they did suffer their first defeat of the
season in Perth back in mid September. I fancy Tade and Vine to cause
the Celtic defence some problems and certainly think the best price of a
Cetlic win at 1.25 is completely unbackable. I'll give this match a big
body swere but can see a home win. NO BET
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Sunday, 11 November 2012
Friday, 9 November 2012
SPL - 10th Nov - Team News & Thoughts
Inverness v Hearts
Inverness
Injuries - Draper, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Foran, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Raven, Meekings, Warren, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Foran, Roberts, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
Hearts
Injuries - Ridgers, Hamill, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Smith, Enckelman, King, Stevenson
Probable XI - McDonald, McGowan, Zaliukas, Webster, Grainger, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Stevenson, Paterson, Sutton (4-4-1-1)
Prediction : Inverness 1-1 Hearts
Clearly my poor Jambo's have serious financial woe's at the moment which could even spell the end of them (but our amazing fans won't let that happen) but it was interesting to hear Jim Jeffries a couple of weeks ago say that it did seriously affect the players the last time round when they were not getting paid, so dont just think they are pro's and will get on with things on the park. Things like this DO affect players. Anyway I'm done talking about the money problems as its been discussed in the pub to the max at the moment, historically Hearts usually do pretty well up in Inverness but this time round they are facing a bang on form Butcher team that is now unbeaten in their last 9 matches which is pretty much remarkable imho given how shite they were last season. I think I have spotted a tidy little bet to place on this match with decent odds probably because of the fact that Inverness have been scoring so much recently and the fact that the majority of their games have been going over 2.5 goals. But I shall back UNDER 2.5 goals @ 1.85 (Bwin). Reason for this is that if you look at Hearts away games since the start of the season 7 out of 8 of them have stayed under 2.5 this is because we actually have one of the best defences in the league. Only Celtic and Aberdeen have let in less goals and if only we had a decent keeper then I reckon we would have the best defensive record in the SPL. Result wise I hope for a Hearts 1-1 draw but again scoring goals away from home is always a problem.
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Kilmarnock v Ross County
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Gros, Hay, Racchi
Available Squad - Bell, McKeown, Nelson, O'Hara, O'Leary, Johnson, Dayton, Tesselaar, Pascali, Kelly, Sheridan, Heffernan, McKenzie, Harkins, Letheren, Perez, Sissoko, Fowle
Probable XI - Bell, O'Hara, Nelson, O'Leary, McKeown, Pascali, Kelly, Harkins, Dayton, Sheridan, Heffernan (4-4-2)
Ross County
Injuries - Lawson, Duncan, Corcoran
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Scott, Cooper, Morrow, Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Kovacevic, Boyd, Munro, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Kettlewell, Fotheringham, Quinn, Ross, Vigurs (4-4-1-1)
Prediction : Kilmarnock 1-1 Ross County
Both these teams have had very similar form this season and it shows in the league positions as both are on 15pts with Kilmarnock winning slightly more games and County drawing more. It is County who have picked up a little recently and are now unbeaten in their last 3 games and I believe this will be enough to secure them a draw in this fixture and may be even a win. With my hatred of Kenny Shiels aside...... I'll be LAYING KILMARNOCK @ around 2.5 (betfair)
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Motherwell v Dundee
Motherwell
Injuries - Saunders
Douhtful - Hutchison
Available Squad - Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Hutchinson, Kerr, Cummins, Ramsden, Lasley, Law, Carswell, Humphrey, Murphy, Higdon, Ojamaa, McHugh, Francis-Angol, Daley, Hetherington, Murray, Hollis
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Hutchison, Ramsden, Lasley, Law, Humphrey, Murphy, Ojamaa, Higdon (4-4-2)
Dundee
Injuries - O'Donnell, Easton, Kerr, Grassi, Finnigan, McCluskey
Available Squad -Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne, Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, McGregor, Lookwood, Benedictus, Riley, mcBride, Davidson, McAllister, Milne, Nish (4-4-2)
Prediction : Motherwell 2-0 Dundee
Motherwell have been through a terrible run of form lately but not helped by the midweek defeat to Dundee Utd, but I think the best medicine for them is a game against Dundee - the worst team in the league by a mile. Dundee stunned us again last week with their 2nd win of the season over Hearts but I'm happy to ignore that as they are still rubbish. Motherwell just have too much quality in their team to not win this match. Gonna take Motherwell -1.25 asian Handicap @ 2.15 (bet365)
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St Mirren v Aberdeen
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor
Suspended - Goowdin
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Imrie, Reilly, Carey, Robertson, Teale, Guy, Parkin, Thompson, Smith, J McGinn, P McGinn, Barron, McLean
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Dummett, Reilly, McLean, Imrie, Carey, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Aberdeen
Injuries - Hughes,
Available Squad - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Smith, Osbourne, Hayes, Rae, McGinn, Vernon, Fraser, Magennis, Naysmith, Clark, Rogers, Shaughnessy,
Probable XI - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Considine, Robertson, Rae, Osborne, Fraser, Hayes, Vernon, McGinn (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-1 Aberdeen
Can't help but wonder why Aberdeen are priced as short as they are for this game. St Mirren are a little better when they play at home. The draw seems a more likely result to me and it has happened the last 5 times the sides have met! The Dons suffered only their 2nd defeat of the season last week against Ross County, but they have also draw more games than they have won. Take the DRAW @ 3.4 (bet365) also consider under 2.5 @ 1.8 (betvictor)
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Inverness
Injuries - Draper, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Foran, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Raven, Meekings, Warren, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Foran, Roberts, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
Hearts
Injuries - Ridgers, Hamill, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Smith, Enckelman, King, Stevenson
Probable XI - McDonald, McGowan, Zaliukas, Webster, Grainger, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Stevenson, Paterson, Sutton (4-4-1-1)
Prediction : Inverness 1-1 Hearts
Clearly my poor Jambo's have serious financial woe's at the moment which could even spell the end of them (but our amazing fans won't let that happen) but it was interesting to hear Jim Jeffries a couple of weeks ago say that it did seriously affect the players the last time round when they were not getting paid, so dont just think they are pro's and will get on with things on the park. Things like this DO affect players. Anyway I'm done talking about the money problems as its been discussed in the pub to the max at the moment, historically Hearts usually do pretty well up in Inverness but this time round they are facing a bang on form Butcher team that is now unbeaten in their last 9 matches which is pretty much remarkable imho given how shite they were last season. I think I have spotted a tidy little bet to place on this match with decent odds probably because of the fact that Inverness have been scoring so much recently and the fact that the majority of their games have been going over 2.5 goals. But I shall back UNDER 2.5 goals @ 1.85 (Bwin). Reason for this is that if you look at Hearts away games since the start of the season 7 out of 8 of them have stayed under 2.5 this is because we actually have one of the best defences in the league. Only Celtic and Aberdeen have let in less goals and if only we had a decent keeper then I reckon we would have the best defensive record in the SPL. Result wise I hope for a Hearts 1-1 draw but again scoring goals away from home is always a problem.
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Kilmarnock v Ross County
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Gros, Hay, Racchi
Available Squad - Bell, McKeown, Nelson, O'Hara, O'Leary, Johnson, Dayton, Tesselaar, Pascali, Kelly, Sheridan, Heffernan, McKenzie, Harkins, Letheren, Perez, Sissoko, Fowle
Probable XI - Bell, O'Hara, Nelson, O'Leary, McKeown, Pascali, Kelly, Harkins, Dayton, Sheridan, Heffernan (4-4-2)
Ross County
Injuries - Lawson, Duncan, Corcoran
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Scott, Cooper, Morrow, Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Kovacevic, Boyd, Munro, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Kettlewell, Fotheringham, Quinn, Ross, Vigurs (4-4-1-1)
Prediction : Kilmarnock 1-1 Ross County
Both these teams have had very similar form this season and it shows in the league positions as both are on 15pts with Kilmarnock winning slightly more games and County drawing more. It is County who have picked up a little recently and are now unbeaten in their last 3 games and I believe this will be enough to secure them a draw in this fixture and may be even a win. With my hatred of Kenny Shiels aside...... I'll be LAYING KILMARNOCK @ around 2.5 (betfair)
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Motherwell v Dundee
Motherwell
Injuries - Saunders
Douhtful - Hutchison
Available Squad - Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Hutchinson, Kerr, Cummins, Ramsden, Lasley, Law, Carswell, Humphrey, Murphy, Higdon, Ojamaa, McHugh, Francis-Angol, Daley, Hetherington, Murray, Hollis
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Hutchison, Ramsden, Lasley, Law, Humphrey, Murphy, Ojamaa, Higdon (4-4-2)
Dundee
Injuries - O'Donnell, Easton, Kerr, Grassi, Finnigan, McCluskey
Available Squad -Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne, Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, McGregor, Lookwood, Benedictus, Riley, mcBride, Davidson, McAllister, Milne, Nish (4-4-2)
Prediction : Motherwell 2-0 Dundee
Motherwell have been through a terrible run of form lately but not helped by the midweek defeat to Dundee Utd, but I think the best medicine for them is a game against Dundee - the worst team in the league by a mile. Dundee stunned us again last week with their 2nd win of the season over Hearts but I'm happy to ignore that as they are still rubbish. Motherwell just have too much quality in their team to not win this match. Gonna take Motherwell -1.25 asian Handicap @ 2.15 (bet365)
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St Mirren v Aberdeen
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor
Suspended - Goowdin
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Imrie, Reilly, Carey, Robertson, Teale, Guy, Parkin, Thompson, Smith, J McGinn, P McGinn, Barron, McLean
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Dummett, Reilly, McLean, Imrie, Carey, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Aberdeen
Injuries - Hughes,
Available Squad - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Smith, Osbourne, Hayes, Rae, McGinn, Vernon, Fraser, Magennis, Naysmith, Clark, Rogers, Shaughnessy,
Probable XI - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Considine, Robertson, Rae, Osborne, Fraser, Hayes, Vernon, McGinn (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-1 Aberdeen
Can't help but wonder why Aberdeen are priced as short as they are for this game. St Mirren are a little better when they play at home. The draw seems a more likely result to me and it has happened the last 5 times the sides have met! The Dons suffered only their 2nd defeat of the season last week against Ross County, but they have also draw more games than they have won. Take the DRAW @ 3.4 (bet365) also consider under 2.5 @ 1.8 (betvictor)
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Friday, 2 November 2012
SPL - Saturday 3rd Nov Team News & Thoughts
Dundee v Hearts
Dundee
Injuries - Easton, Grassi, O'Donnell, Stewart, Finnigan, McCluskey, Kerr
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne, Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, Benedictus, Gallagher, Lookwood, Rilley, McBride, Conroy, Davidson, Nish, McAllister (4-4-2)
Hearts
Injuries - Stevenson, Ridgers, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Smith, Enckelman, King.
Probable XI - MacDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Driver, Paterson, Sutton (4-4-1-1)
Prediction: Dundee 0-1 Hearts
Dundee have been a horror show since joining the SPL, and many feel sorry for them as it really should have been Dunfermline there instead of them. Other than their opening day draw at Kilmarnock and their shock win at Tynecastle Dundee have lost all their other games this season and at times by some margin. Hearts will be looking to avenge that silly defeat back in September but as always Hearts poor away form really does make the skinny odds of around 1.8 unbackable in my book. It's a NO BET for me but if you do fancy a flutter I would look at the HT/FT market for a bit of value and take it to be a draw at HT and Hearts win at FT
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Hibs v St Mirren
Hibs
Injuries - Deegan
Doubtful - Clancy
Available Squad - Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Claros, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Stevenson, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Stanton, Caldwell, Handling, Kuqi, Sproule, McGivern, Taiwo, Antell
Probable XI - Williams, Maybury, Hanlon, McPake, McGivern, Wotherspoon, Claros, Taiwo, Cairney, Doyle, Griffiths (4-4-2)
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Goodwin, Imrie, Reilly, Carey, Robertson, Teale, Guy, Parkin, Thompson, Smith, J McGinn, P McGinn, Barron, McLean
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Dummett, Goodwin, McLean, Imrie, Carey, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Prediction: Hibs 2-1 St Mirren
Hibs form is starting to scare me a little, they really are now starting to produce under Fenlon and look a real threat upfront nowadays. Last Fridays 4-0 win at Motherwell was a very convincing performance (I had to switch off.....lol) They'll still be without midfield dominator Deegan who is out with a broken jaw but they have coped well enough without him so far. In terms of this game one thing I note is that Hibs are actually top of the table as far as home games go with St Mirren only managing to be 3rd bottom of the "away table". Given this and the fact that St Mirren were taken all the way to penalties by Aberdeen in the cup on Tuesday with Hibs well rested I think this is a great spot to back a home win. Best price for HIBS WIN @2.2 (William Hill) I think is a bit of a steal!
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Kilmarnock v Inverness
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Gros, Hay, Racchi
Doubtful - Sheridan
Available Squad - Bell, McKeown, Nelson, O'Hara, O'Leary, Johnson, Dayton, Tesselaar, Pascali, Kelly, Sheridan, Heffernan, McKenzie, Harkins, Letheren, Perez, Sissoko, Fowler
Probable XI - Bell, McKeown, Nelson, O'Leary, McKenzie, Pascali, Kelly, Johnson, O'Harra, Heffernan, Sheridan (4-4-2)
Inverness
Injuries - Foran, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Foran, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Raven, Warren, Meekings, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Draper, Foran, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
Prediction: Kilmarnock 2-2 Inverness
Inverness are on an amazing run, unbeaten in 8 and winning 3-0 at 3rd division minnows Rangers midweek to secure their place in the semi finals of the cup. All this from a team I thought would be relegation dog fighters! They seem to have found goal scorer from all over the park and credit has to be given to big angry Terry Butcher as he took a risk clearing out a lot of players in the off season and bringing in a lot of unknowns from England. Kenny Shiels (that horrible man) is suggesting that Inverness are big favourites for this match but this is typical of his little mind games, I think his team will be very competitive here. It should be a high scoring affair, possibly a draw but certainly overs. Take OVER 2.5 @ 1.91 (William Hill) Seems generous to me considering Killie have gone over in 8/10 and Inverness in 4 out of the last 5.
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Ross County v Aberdeen
Ross County
Injuries - Corcoran, Lawson, Duncan
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Scott, Cooper, Morrow, Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Kovacevic, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Vigurs, Kettlewell, Quinn, McMenamin, Glen (4-4-2)
Aberdeen
Injuries - Considine, Jack, Fallon, Masson, Milson
Available Squad - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Smith, Osbourne, Hayes, Rae, McGinn, Hughes, Vernon, Fraser, Magennis, Naysmith, Clark, Rogers, Shaughnessy,
Probable XI - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Osbourne, Robertson, Rae, Hughes, Hayes, McGinn, Vernon, Magennis (4-4-2)
Prediction: Ross County 1-1 Aberdeen
Aberdeen's 1-0 defeat to Celtic on the opening day of the season remains their only blemish and they have gone undefeated since then (in 90mins). It really has been some turnaround from Craig Brown's men since last season and they are sitting pretty up in 3rd place. Why? Well because they have managed to assemble a good squad of players with a blend of youth and experienced pro's. They have a really decent midfeld and are now proving to be decent in defence. If they could just score goals i reckon they would have turned the majority of draws into wins. The two teams drew 0-0 earlier in the season in Aberdeen and again I reckon this is going to be a hotly contested Highland derby with 2000 travelling Dandy Dons. County are starting to struggle a bit in the SPL and have only actually won once at home and drawing 3. DRAW I think is the key word here, Aberdeen love a draw. They have 6 times out of 11 in the league so far and if you had been backing them to draw since the start of the season you'd be well up so lets have a go here tomorrow. DRAW @ 3.3 (Paddy Power)
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St Johnstone v Motherwell
St Johnstone
Injuries - Pawlett, Beattie, Adams, Cregg
Available Squad - Mannus, Mackay, C Davidson, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade, Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, McCracken, Miller, Caddis, Scobbie, Tobin, Kane, Tuffey, Gray, Vine, Moon
Probable XI - Mannus, Miller, Anderson, McCracken, Mackay, M.Davidson, Craig, Moon, Millar, Tade, Vine (4-4-2)
Motherwell
Injuries - Hutchinson, Saunders
Available Squad - Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Hutchinson, Kerr, Cummins, Ramsden, Lasley, Law, Carswell, Humphrey, Murphy, Higdon, Ojamaa, McHugh, Francis-Angol, Daley, Hetherington, Murray, Hollis.
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Kerr, Ramsden, Hammell, Lasley, Law, Murphy, Daley, Ojamaa, Higdon (4-4-2)
Prediction: St Johnston 2-1 Motherwell
All of a sudden Stuart McCall's men are rubbish, and I can't quite pinpoint what the problem is as its basically the same group of players that were so good last term. They have now lost their last 4 games in a row and moral must be low. This will be a problem as they are facing a St Johnstone team that apart from a skelping midweek in the cup against Celtic have been doing really well recently and are unbeaten in their last 5 at home games and finding the net with regularity. I'm going for overs in this match as 7 out of the last St Johnstone games have gone this way and I feel Motherwell will also contribute with players like Murphy, Higdon and Law playing. OVER 2.5 GOAL @ 1.85 (Bet Victor) also consider TADE anytime scorer @ 3.4 (Skybet)
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Dundee
Injuries - Easton, Grassi, O'Donnell, Stewart, Finnigan, McCluskey, Kerr
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne, Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, Benedictus, Gallagher, Lookwood, Rilley, McBride, Conroy, Davidson, Nish, McAllister (4-4-2)
Hearts
Injuries - Stevenson, Ridgers, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Smith, Enckelman, King.
Probable XI - MacDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Driver, Paterson, Sutton (4-4-1-1)
Prediction: Dundee 0-1 Hearts
Dundee have been a horror show since joining the SPL, and many feel sorry for them as it really should have been Dunfermline there instead of them. Other than their opening day draw at Kilmarnock and their shock win at Tynecastle Dundee have lost all their other games this season and at times by some margin. Hearts will be looking to avenge that silly defeat back in September but as always Hearts poor away form really does make the skinny odds of around 1.8 unbackable in my book. It's a NO BET for me but if you do fancy a flutter I would look at the HT/FT market for a bit of value and take it to be a draw at HT and Hearts win at FT
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Hibs v St Mirren
Hibs
Injuries - Deegan
Doubtful - Clancy
Available Squad - Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Claros, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Stevenson, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Stanton, Caldwell, Handling, Kuqi, Sproule, McGivern, Taiwo, Antell
Probable XI - Williams, Maybury, Hanlon, McPake, McGivern, Wotherspoon, Claros, Taiwo, Cairney, Doyle, Griffiths (4-4-2)
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Goodwin, Imrie, Reilly, Carey, Robertson, Teale, Guy, Parkin, Thompson, Smith, J McGinn, P McGinn, Barron, McLean
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Dummett, Goodwin, McLean, Imrie, Carey, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Prediction: Hibs 2-1 St Mirren
Hibs form is starting to scare me a little, they really are now starting to produce under Fenlon and look a real threat upfront nowadays. Last Fridays 4-0 win at Motherwell was a very convincing performance (I had to switch off.....lol) They'll still be without midfield dominator Deegan who is out with a broken jaw but they have coped well enough without him so far. In terms of this game one thing I note is that Hibs are actually top of the table as far as home games go with St Mirren only managing to be 3rd bottom of the "away table". Given this and the fact that St Mirren were taken all the way to penalties by Aberdeen in the cup on Tuesday with Hibs well rested I think this is a great spot to back a home win. Best price for HIBS WIN @2.2 (William Hill) I think is a bit of a steal!
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Kilmarnock v Inverness
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Gros, Hay, Racchi
Doubtful - Sheridan
Available Squad - Bell, McKeown, Nelson, O'Hara, O'Leary, Johnson, Dayton, Tesselaar, Pascali, Kelly, Sheridan, Heffernan, McKenzie, Harkins, Letheren, Perez, Sissoko, Fowler
Probable XI - Bell, McKeown, Nelson, O'Leary, McKenzie, Pascali, Kelly, Johnson, O'Harra, Heffernan, Sheridan (4-4-2)
Inverness
Injuries - Foran, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Foran, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Raven, Warren, Meekings, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Draper, Foran, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
Prediction: Kilmarnock 2-2 Inverness
Inverness are on an amazing run, unbeaten in 8 and winning 3-0 at 3rd division minnows Rangers midweek to secure their place in the semi finals of the cup. All this from a team I thought would be relegation dog fighters! They seem to have found goal scorer from all over the park and credit has to be given to big angry Terry Butcher as he took a risk clearing out a lot of players in the off season and bringing in a lot of unknowns from England. Kenny Shiels (that horrible man) is suggesting that Inverness are big favourites for this match but this is typical of his little mind games, I think his team will be very competitive here. It should be a high scoring affair, possibly a draw but certainly overs. Take OVER 2.5 @ 1.91 (William Hill) Seems generous to me considering Killie have gone over in 8/10 and Inverness in 4 out of the last 5.
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Ross County v Aberdeen
Ross County
Injuries - Corcoran, Lawson, Duncan
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Scott, Cooper, Morrow, Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Kovacevic, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Vigurs, Kettlewell, Quinn, McMenamin, Glen (4-4-2)
Aberdeen
Injuries - Considine, Jack, Fallon, Masson, Milson
Available Squad - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Smith, Osbourne, Hayes, Rae, McGinn, Hughes, Vernon, Fraser, Magennis, Naysmith, Clark, Rogers, Shaughnessy,
Probable XI - Langfield, Reynolds, Anderson, Osbourne, Robertson, Rae, Hughes, Hayes, McGinn, Vernon, Magennis (4-4-2)
Prediction: Ross County 1-1 Aberdeen
Aberdeen's 1-0 defeat to Celtic on the opening day of the season remains their only blemish and they have gone undefeated since then (in 90mins). It really has been some turnaround from Craig Brown's men since last season and they are sitting pretty up in 3rd place. Why? Well because they have managed to assemble a good squad of players with a blend of youth and experienced pro's. They have a really decent midfeld and are now proving to be decent in defence. If they could just score goals i reckon they would have turned the majority of draws into wins. The two teams drew 0-0 earlier in the season in Aberdeen and again I reckon this is going to be a hotly contested Highland derby with 2000 travelling Dandy Dons. County are starting to struggle a bit in the SPL and have only actually won once at home and drawing 3. DRAW I think is the key word here, Aberdeen love a draw. They have 6 times out of 11 in the league so far and if you had been backing them to draw since the start of the season you'd be well up so lets have a go here tomorrow. DRAW @ 3.3 (Paddy Power)
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St Johnstone v Motherwell
St Johnstone
Injuries - Pawlett, Beattie, Adams, Cregg
Available Squad - Mannus, Mackay, C Davidson, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade, Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, McCracken, Miller, Caddis, Scobbie, Tobin, Kane, Tuffey, Gray, Vine, Moon
Probable XI - Mannus, Miller, Anderson, McCracken, Mackay, M.Davidson, Craig, Moon, Millar, Tade, Vine (4-4-2)
Motherwell
Injuries - Hutchinson, Saunders
Available Squad - Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Hutchinson, Kerr, Cummins, Ramsden, Lasley, Law, Carswell, Humphrey, Murphy, Higdon, Ojamaa, McHugh, Francis-Angol, Daley, Hetherington, Murray, Hollis.
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Kerr, Ramsden, Hammell, Lasley, Law, Murphy, Daley, Ojamaa, Higdon (4-4-2)
Prediction: St Johnston 2-1 Motherwell
All of a sudden Stuart McCall's men are rubbish, and I can't quite pinpoint what the problem is as its basically the same group of players that were so good last term. They have now lost their last 4 games in a row and moral must be low. This will be a problem as they are facing a St Johnstone team that apart from a skelping midweek in the cup against Celtic have been doing really well recently and are unbeaten in their last 5 at home games and finding the net with regularity. I'm going for overs in this match as 7 out of the last St Johnstone games have gone this way and I feel Motherwell will also contribute with players like Murphy, Higdon and Law playing. OVER 2.5 GOAL @ 1.85 (Bet Victor) also consider TADE anytime scorer @ 3.4 (Skybet)
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Friday, 26 October 2012
SPL - Saturday 27th Oct Team News & Thoughts
Aberdeen v Dundee
Aberdeen
Injuries - Jack, Considine, Fallon
Available Squad - Langfield, Magennis, Robertson, Reynolds, Anderson, Osbourne, Rae, McGinn, Hughes, Fraser, Hayes, Vernon, Smith, Jordon Brown, Jason Brown, Clark, Milsom, Rogers, Shaughnessy, Naysmith
Probable XI - Langfield, Naysmith, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Hughes, Rae, Osbourne, McGinn, Fraser, Vernon (4-3-3)
Dundee
Injuries - Kerr, Grassi, O'Donnell, Stewart, Finnigan, McCluskey
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Easton, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne, Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, McGregor, Benedictus, Lockwood, Riley, Davidson, McAllister, McBride, Nish, Milne (4-4-2)
Prediction : Aberdeen 2-0 Dundee
Dundee took a bit of a tonking last time out against Inverness losing 5-1 at home. I think Aberdeen have been waiting for a game like this to hand out a bit of a hiding to someone (Craig Brown has been dreaming of it for a while). But I dont think it will be a hiding in terms of scoreline but it might be in terms of the difference in the teams. Aberdeen still really struggle to get the goals they deserve and you've got to think Dundee have been practicing their defending all week so I think UNDER 2.5 GOALS @ 1.91 (William Hill) is worth a look in this match.
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Celtic v Kilmarnock
Celtic
Injuries - Stokes, Nouioui, McGeouch, Samaras
Available Squad - N/A
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Mulgrew, Wilson, Izaguirre, Ledley, Kayal, Wanyama, Commons, Forrest, Hooper (4-4-1-1)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - N/A
Available Squad - N/A
Probable XI - Bell, O'Leary, Pascali, Nelson, McKeown, Pursehouse, Kelly, Harkins, Fowler, Sheridan, Heffernan
Prediction : Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock
Celtic will be feeling it after the defeat to Barcelona and the travel etc but they have a big enough squad to field enough fresh legs to still easily win this match. Kilmarnock will be more competitive now with Heffernan back to partner Sheridan up front. Still I can't see Killie getting much out of this match but its a NO BET, no value for me!
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Hearts v Ross County
Hearts
Injuries - Ridgers, Hammill, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Stevenson, Smith, Enckelman
Probable XI - MacDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Driver, Taouil, Barr, Novikovas, Paterson, Stevenson (4-4-1-1)
Ross County
Injuries - Morrow, Scott, Cooper, Corcoran
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Boyd, Munro, Kovacevic, Fitzpatrick, Kettlewell, Brittain, Vigurs, Quinn, Fotheringham, McMenamin (4-5-1)
Prediction : Hearts 2-1 Ross County
It was back to winning ways for both these teams last week and sorely needed for both. Probably more so Ross County who hadn't won a match in the previous 6. They really have not been the same team since their long unbeaten run came to an end. All of a sudden they have become severely leaky at the back, shipping 12 goals in their last 4 games. I'm expecting Hearts to be pretty much unchanged from the win over Motherwell and with home advantage we really should be the dominant team here. County might nick a goal but I see Hearts getting on the scoresheet at least twice. HOME WIN @ 2.0 (William Hill)
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Inverness v St Johnstone
Inverness
Injuries - Foran, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Draper, Sutherland, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
St Johnstone
Injuries - Pawlett, Beattie, Adam, MacLean, Cregg
Available Squad - Mannus, Mackay, C Davidson, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade, Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, McCracken, Miller, Caddis, Scobbie, Tobin, Kane, Tuffey, Gray, Vine, Moon
Probable XI - Mannus, C.Davidson, Anderson, Wright, Mackay, Hasselbaink, Millar, Craig, m.Davidson, Tade, Vine (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 1-2 St Johnstone
Pretty much a bit of an OMG this....These two teams are basically the 2 form teams in the SPL at the moment, especially St Johnstone. After starting the season badly all of a sudden they are invincible winning their last SIX games on the trott! And I have no idea why!!! To be honest though, since the home win over Celtic they have had a favourable run of fixtures. Inverness also have won their last 3 in a row scoring unbelievably 11 goals in the process so I really am expecting some goals in this game and am a liitle surprised that I can get OVER 2.5 GOALS @1.91 (Paddy Power) I'll have a piece of that!
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St Mirren v Dundee Utd
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor, Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Goodwin, Carey, McLean, Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Parkin, Imrie, C Smith, Teale, Barron, P McGinn, J McGinn, Reilly
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barrow, Guy, Carey, McLean, Reilly, Imrie, Thompson (4-4-1-1)
Dundee Utd
Injuries - Vignal, Mackay-Steven
Available Squad - Cierzniak, Watson, Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Flood, Rankin, Ryan, Russell, Daly, Dow, Armstrong, Millar, Gardyne, Robertson, Skacel, Gauld, Douglas, Hilson, Banks
Probable XI - Cierzniak, Dillon, Watson, Gunning, Flood, Armstrong, Rankin, Gardyne, Robertson, Daly, Russell (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-2 Dundee Utd
Dundee Utd find themselves 2nd bottom of the league, they do have 2 games in hand but they are both tricky against Motherwell and Celtic so I dont actually think their position is that false. They have simply not produced the same performances as they achieved last year. The big news is they have managed to sign Rudi Skacel until January much to the disappointment of the Hearts fans who presumed he would rejoin at Tynecastle. I nice touch for the Jambos though is the fact he has asked for his number to be 51 after the famous 5-1 Hampden massacre he inflicted on Hibs last year.....lol I imagine he wont start but has been training recently with Hearts so will probably feature at some point. He will be a useful fill in until Mackay-Steven returns. St Mirren were a hopeless shambles against Celtic last week and looked a bit lost without McGowan. Peter Houstons troops need a vital win and I think they will squeeze it. DUNDEE UTD WIN @ 2.5 (Boylesports)
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Aberdeen
Injuries - Jack, Considine, Fallon
Available Squad - Langfield, Magennis, Robertson, Reynolds, Anderson, Osbourne, Rae, McGinn, Hughes, Fraser, Hayes, Vernon, Smith, Jordon Brown, Jason Brown, Clark, Milsom, Rogers, Shaughnessy, Naysmith
Probable XI - Langfield, Naysmith, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Hughes, Rae, Osbourne, McGinn, Fraser, Vernon (4-3-3)
Dundee
Injuries - Kerr, Grassi, O'Donnell, Stewart, Finnigan, McCluskey
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Easton, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne, Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, McGregor, Benedictus, Lockwood, Riley, Davidson, McAllister, McBride, Nish, Milne (4-4-2)
Prediction : Aberdeen 2-0 Dundee
Dundee took a bit of a tonking last time out against Inverness losing 5-1 at home. I think Aberdeen have been waiting for a game like this to hand out a bit of a hiding to someone (Craig Brown has been dreaming of it for a while). But I dont think it will be a hiding in terms of scoreline but it might be in terms of the difference in the teams. Aberdeen still really struggle to get the goals they deserve and you've got to think Dundee have been practicing their defending all week so I think UNDER 2.5 GOALS @ 1.91 (William Hill) is worth a look in this match.
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Celtic v Kilmarnock
Celtic
Injuries - Stokes, Nouioui, McGeouch, Samaras
Available Squad - N/A
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Mulgrew, Wilson, Izaguirre, Ledley, Kayal, Wanyama, Commons, Forrest, Hooper (4-4-1-1)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - N/A
Available Squad - N/A
Probable XI - Bell, O'Leary, Pascali, Nelson, McKeown, Pursehouse, Kelly, Harkins, Fowler, Sheridan, Heffernan
Prediction : Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock
Celtic will be feeling it after the defeat to Barcelona and the travel etc but they have a big enough squad to field enough fresh legs to still easily win this match. Kilmarnock will be more competitive now with Heffernan back to partner Sheridan up front. Still I can't see Killie getting much out of this match but its a NO BET, no value for me!
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Hearts v Ross County
Hearts
Injuries - Ridgers, Hammill, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Stevenson, Smith, Enckelman
Probable XI - MacDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Driver, Taouil, Barr, Novikovas, Paterson, Stevenson (4-4-1-1)
Ross County
Injuries - Morrow, Scott, Cooper, Corcoran
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Boyd, Munro, Kovacevic, Fitzpatrick, Kettlewell, Brittain, Vigurs, Quinn, Fotheringham, McMenamin (4-5-1)
Prediction : Hearts 2-1 Ross County
It was back to winning ways for both these teams last week and sorely needed for both. Probably more so Ross County who hadn't won a match in the previous 6. They really have not been the same team since their long unbeaten run came to an end. All of a sudden they have become severely leaky at the back, shipping 12 goals in their last 4 games. I'm expecting Hearts to be pretty much unchanged from the win over Motherwell and with home advantage we really should be the dominant team here. County might nick a goal but I see Hearts getting on the scoresheet at least twice. HOME WIN @ 2.0 (William Hill)
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Inverness v St Johnstone
Inverness
Injuries - Foran, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Draper, Sutherland, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
St Johnstone
Injuries - Pawlett, Beattie, Adam, MacLean, Cregg
Available Squad - Mannus, Mackay, C Davidson, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade, Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, McCracken, Miller, Caddis, Scobbie, Tobin, Kane, Tuffey, Gray, Vine, Moon
Probable XI - Mannus, C.Davidson, Anderson, Wright, Mackay, Hasselbaink, Millar, Craig, m.Davidson, Tade, Vine (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 1-2 St Johnstone
Pretty much a bit of an OMG this....These two teams are basically the 2 form teams in the SPL at the moment, especially St Johnstone. After starting the season badly all of a sudden they are invincible winning their last SIX games on the trott! And I have no idea why!!! To be honest though, since the home win over Celtic they have had a favourable run of fixtures. Inverness also have won their last 3 in a row scoring unbelievably 11 goals in the process so I really am expecting some goals in this game and am a liitle surprised that I can get OVER 2.5 GOALS @1.91 (Paddy Power) I'll have a piece of that!
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St Mirren v Dundee Utd
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor, Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Goodwin, Carey, McLean, Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Parkin, Imrie, C Smith, Teale, Barron, P McGinn, J McGinn, Reilly
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barrow, Guy, Carey, McLean, Reilly, Imrie, Thompson (4-4-1-1)
Dundee Utd
Injuries - Vignal, Mackay-Steven
Available Squad - Cierzniak, Watson, Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Flood, Rankin, Ryan, Russell, Daly, Dow, Armstrong, Millar, Gardyne, Robertson, Skacel, Gauld, Douglas, Hilson, Banks
Probable XI - Cierzniak, Dillon, Watson, Gunning, Flood, Armstrong, Rankin, Gardyne, Robertson, Daly, Russell (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-2 Dundee Utd
Dundee Utd find themselves 2nd bottom of the league, they do have 2 games in hand but they are both tricky against Motherwell and Celtic so I dont actually think their position is that false. They have simply not produced the same performances as they achieved last year. The big news is they have managed to sign Rudi Skacel until January much to the disappointment of the Hearts fans who presumed he would rejoin at Tynecastle. I nice touch for the Jambos though is the fact he has asked for his number to be 51 after the famous 5-1 Hampden massacre he inflicted on Hibs last year.....lol I imagine he wont start but has been training recently with Hearts so will probably feature at some point. He will be a useful fill in until Mackay-Steven returns. St Mirren were a hopeless shambles against Celtic last week and looked a bit lost without McGowan. Peter Houstons troops need a vital win and I think they will squeeze it. DUNDEE UTD WIN @ 2.5 (Boylesports)
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Monday, 22 October 2012
Barcelona v Celtic
Barcelona v Celtic
Barcelona
Injuries - Puyol, Pique, Alves
Suspended - Busquets
Probable XI - Valdes, Montoya, Mascherano, Song, Alba, Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, Alexis, Messi, Villa (4-3-3)
Celtic
Injuries - McGeouch, Nouioui
Doubtful - Commons, Forrest, Wilson
Probable XI - Forster, Lustig, Wilson, Ambrose, Izaguirre, Mulgrew, Wanyama, Brown, Ledley, Samaras, Hooper (4-2-3-1)
Optimistic Celtic fans will go into this match rightly saying that Celtic are unbeaten in Europe this season after securing qualification into the group stages with impressive home and away wins in Helsinki and at Helsingborg. They followed that with a fantasic start to their group stage campaign securing a well earned draw against Benfica and then managing to take an unfancied 3pts back from Moscow (abeit with the aid of a red card). However, despite these recent improvements on their travels, people with a slightly longer memory will not have forgotten about that shockingly bad away record Celtic have in Europe. The hard facts are that the win against Spartak Moscow was their only win in their last 27 away matches in Europe proper (W1 D6 L20). So, probably the last place in europe you would want to be going to improve that record is Camp Nou where Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 17 Champions League home matches (W14 D3). Still Celtic's domestic form has been really good this season, if we ignore the hiccup against St Johnstone, they have gone all other games this season so far undefeated but some would argue this is to be expected in the SPL where they have a far superior squad to any rivals.
Clearly facing Barcelona is a daunting task, in my humble opinion Barca are still the best team in the world and best ever with arguably currently the 3 best players in the world in Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. In terms of ball retention, passing ability and vision I think you will struggle to see any better than Iniesta and particularly Xavi who is often the unsung meastro but only because Iniesta and Messi shine so brightly. If there are 2 better midfielders than Xavi and Iniesta in my era then simply they have not been born yet, as these guys are that good! I don't have to talk about Messi as it is all there to see, he is a freak of nature and has been the top scorer in the Champions League for the last 4 seasons in a row. Almost without fail he delivers in every, and I mean every, game he plays in breaking record after record in his extrodinary career.
If there was to be any glimer of hope for Celtic it would be that under Tito Vilanova, he has made Barca slightly more open at the back, in part due to injuries I suppose, but they are definately a little more vunerable now than they were under the charge of Pep Guardiloa. Vilanova has a more, "we'll score more goals than you" attitude and to be fair they normally do. There have been a few examples of this already, last time out against Deportivo it ended 5-4, at Sevilla it was 3-2 and on the opening night of the group stages they won a shot-out style game against Spartak Moscow 3-2 also. I imagine they will go with the partnership of midfielders Mascherano and Song in central defence again but mind you Mascherano is probably now more experienced in defence than in the middle of the park. Dani Alves will also misses the match so youngster Montoya is likely to step in at right back. These are the area that Celtic need to target if they get the chance as the defence will also not have the protection of Busquets who normally sits and holds letting the attacking players do what they are best at.
The shape that Lennon used in Moscow was a bit of a surprise from his usual 4-4-1-1 away tatics, he deployed more of a 4-2-3-1 formation using strangley Mulgrew and Wanyama to sheild the back four. Commons and Samaras give the width leaving Brown to roam free and add support to Hooper which oddly I reckon suits his style of play as he is not the best at sticking to a certain area of the pitch instead he chases the ball (some would say like a headless chicken....lol)
Anyway it wouldn't surprise me given the success they had in Moscow that Lennon tries this formation again.
However, I am a realist and the gulf in class between the 2 teams here is basically as big as you are likely to see in the Champions League this year. Barcelona have embarrassed and hammered far better teams than Celtic in the Champions League and I think if Celtic can escape with their dignity that might well be a good result. Their biggest worry apart from the possession that Barcelona will have is their passing accuracy, put simply they should be able to pass the ball around Celtic with ease. Messi is scoring for fun again this season and it is difficult to see any match where he is not going to net at least once. The attacking pace that Barca have whether the start with Pedro or Alexis out wide together with Villa will be too much for Celtics cumbersome centre halfs and I can see them being hopelessly exposed on numerous occassions. There should be no debate, well apart from may be in Glasgow's east end, as to who is going to win this match but instead I will focus on how many team goals Barcelona can score. It has been over a year since Celtic have let in more than 3 goals in any match but I think tomorrow night they may well be out of their depth without any armbands.......
Prediction : Barcelona 5-0 Celtic
BET : Barcelona team goals over 3.5
Barcelona
Injuries - Puyol, Pique, Alves
Suspended - Busquets
Probable XI - Valdes, Montoya, Mascherano, Song, Alba, Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, Alexis, Messi, Villa (4-3-3)
Celtic
Injuries - McGeouch, Nouioui
Doubtful - Commons, Forrest, Wilson
Probable XI - Forster, Lustig, Wilson, Ambrose, Izaguirre, Mulgrew, Wanyama, Brown, Ledley, Samaras, Hooper (4-2-3-1)
Optimistic Celtic fans will go into this match rightly saying that Celtic are unbeaten in Europe this season after securing qualification into the group stages with impressive home and away wins in Helsinki and at Helsingborg. They followed that with a fantasic start to their group stage campaign securing a well earned draw against Benfica and then managing to take an unfancied 3pts back from Moscow (abeit with the aid of a red card). However, despite these recent improvements on their travels, people with a slightly longer memory will not have forgotten about that shockingly bad away record Celtic have in Europe. The hard facts are that the win against Spartak Moscow was their only win in their last 27 away matches in Europe proper (W1 D6 L20). So, probably the last place in europe you would want to be going to improve that record is Camp Nou where Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 17 Champions League home matches (W14 D3). Still Celtic's domestic form has been really good this season, if we ignore the hiccup against St Johnstone, they have gone all other games this season so far undefeated but some would argue this is to be expected in the SPL where they have a far superior squad to any rivals.
Clearly facing Barcelona is a daunting task, in my humble opinion Barca are still the best team in the world and best ever with arguably currently the 3 best players in the world in Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. In terms of ball retention, passing ability and vision I think you will struggle to see any better than Iniesta and particularly Xavi who is often the unsung meastro but only because Iniesta and Messi shine so brightly. If there are 2 better midfielders than Xavi and Iniesta in my era then simply they have not been born yet, as these guys are that good! I don't have to talk about Messi as it is all there to see, he is a freak of nature and has been the top scorer in the Champions League for the last 4 seasons in a row. Almost without fail he delivers in every, and I mean every, game he plays in breaking record after record in his extrodinary career.
If there was to be any glimer of hope for Celtic it would be that under Tito Vilanova, he has made Barca slightly more open at the back, in part due to injuries I suppose, but they are definately a little more vunerable now than they were under the charge of Pep Guardiloa. Vilanova has a more, "we'll score more goals than you" attitude and to be fair they normally do. There have been a few examples of this already, last time out against Deportivo it ended 5-4, at Sevilla it was 3-2 and on the opening night of the group stages they won a shot-out style game against Spartak Moscow 3-2 also. I imagine they will go with the partnership of midfielders Mascherano and Song in central defence again but mind you Mascherano is probably now more experienced in defence than in the middle of the park. Dani Alves will also misses the match so youngster Montoya is likely to step in at right back. These are the area that Celtic need to target if they get the chance as the defence will also not have the protection of Busquets who normally sits and holds letting the attacking players do what they are best at.
The shape that Lennon used in Moscow was a bit of a surprise from his usual 4-4-1-1 away tatics, he deployed more of a 4-2-3-1 formation using strangley Mulgrew and Wanyama to sheild the back four. Commons and Samaras give the width leaving Brown to roam free and add support to Hooper which oddly I reckon suits his style of play as he is not the best at sticking to a certain area of the pitch instead he chases the ball (some would say like a headless chicken....lol)
Anyway it wouldn't surprise me given the success they had in Moscow that Lennon tries this formation again.
However, I am a realist and the gulf in class between the 2 teams here is basically as big as you are likely to see in the Champions League this year. Barcelona have embarrassed and hammered far better teams than Celtic in the Champions League and I think if Celtic can escape with their dignity that might well be a good result. Their biggest worry apart from the possession that Barcelona will have is their passing accuracy, put simply they should be able to pass the ball around Celtic with ease. Messi is scoring for fun again this season and it is difficult to see any match where he is not going to net at least once. The attacking pace that Barca have whether the start with Pedro or Alexis out wide together with Villa will be too much for Celtics cumbersome centre halfs and I can see them being hopelessly exposed on numerous occassions. There should be no debate, well apart from may be in Glasgow's east end, as to who is going to win this match but instead I will focus on how many team goals Barcelona can score. It has been over a year since Celtic have let in more than 3 goals in any match but I think tomorrow night they may well be out of their depth without any armbands.......
Prediction : Barcelona 5-0 Celtic
BET : Barcelona team goals over 3.5
Friday, 28 September 2012
SPL - 29th September Team News & Thoughts
Aberdeen v Hibs
Aberdeen
Injuries - Fallon, Naysmith
Doubts - Hayes, Fraser
Available Squad - Langfield, Foster, Considine, Anderson, Robertson, Jack, Hughes, Rae, Vernon, Hayes, Osbourne, Megginson, Magennis, Fraser, Smith, Low, McGinn, Reynolds, Milsom, Brown
Probable XI - Langfield, Magennis, Considine, Anderson, Reynolds, Jack, Rae, Hughes, Hayes, Vernon, Fraser (4-3-3)
Hibs
Injuries -
Available squad - Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Claros, Deegan, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Stevenson, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Stanton, Caldwell, Kuqi, Sproule, McGivern, Taiwo, Antell
Probable XI - Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Cairney, Deegan, Wotherspoon, Taiwo, Griffiths, Doyle (4-4-2)
Prediction : Aberdeen 1-1 Hibs
It wasn't the fact that Aberdeen got a predictable draw last time out in the league (albiet with a last second goal) that surprised me but the fact that they actually managed to find 3 goals from nowhere. This doubled their tally for the year but I reckon it was more to do with Motherwell's sudden terrible defence that was also evident against Rangers midweek in the cup. So I'm thinking normal service will be resumed this weekend and we will see a drought of goals and probably that Aberdeen predictable draw! Hibs should welcome back Griffiths and whenever he plays I believe he can score so I'm going to have a tiny pop at Correct Score 1-1 @ 7.0 (William Hill). I believe this game will stay under 2.5 goals.
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Dundee v St Johnstone
Dundee
Injuries - McBride, McCluskey, O'Donnell, Grassi, Finnigan, Stewart
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Toshney, Easton, Gallagher, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Kerr, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, Milne, Boyle, Nish
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, Benedictus, Davidson, Lockwood, Milne, McAllister, Kerr, Conroy, Baird, Nish (4-4-2)
St Johnstone
Injuries -
Suspended - Vine, C. Davidson, Adams
Available squad - Mannus, Mackay, Cregg, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade, Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, Tuffey, MacLean, McCracken, Miller, Pawlett, Caddis, Scobbie, Tobin, Kane
Probable XI - Mannus, Miller, Wright, Anderson, MacKay, Craig, Cregg, Millar, M. Davidson, Hasselbaink, Tade (4-4-2)
Prediction : Dundee 0- 2 St Johnstone
Football is a funny old game......St Johnstone were 3 weeks ago on a disgracefully bad run without a win in ages and now they have won their last 3 games. This includes beating Celtic and then bursting Ross County's unbeaten run! Simply not predictable! One thing I know for sure though is that Dundee are really struggling in the top flight and with just 4pts to their name old Paddy Power will soon be paying out on them getting relegated. Talking about Paddy... I'll be having a large slice of an AWAY WIN @2.3 (Paddy Power) I can also see Tade causing havoc in this game so again I will hit Paddy with TADE ANYTIME SCORER @ 3.25 (Paddy Power)
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Hearts v Kilmarnock
Hearts
Injuries - Prychynenko
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Carrick, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Stevenson, Enckelman
Probable XI - McDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Robinson, Taouil, Stevenson, Driver, Novikovas, Paterson (4-4-1-1)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Perez, Heffernan, Tesselaar, Bell, Hay
Available squad - Letheren, Nelson, O'Leary, Fowler, Pascali, McKeown, Racchi, Dayton, Johnston, Kelly, Harkins, McKenzie, Sheridan, Winchester, Johnson, Jaakkola, Gros, Purshehouse
Probable XI - Letheren, Nelson, O'Leary, Fowler, Pascali, McKeown, Kelly, Dayton, Racchi, Sheridan, Harkins (4-4-2)
Prediction : Hearts 2-1 Kilmarnock
I was away golfing last weekend and most of the lads are jambos, as we arrived at the 19th the barman informed us we had beaten Dundee Utd 3-0 at Tannadice. Not one of us believed him until the tele had to be turned on! Truely a surprise win, or at least the scoreline. Anyway Kilmarnock are becoming a bit of a bogie team for Hearts (much to my cousins delight....) they have beaten Hearts 1, 2 and 3 nil in their last 3 visits. For that reason and the fact that I think the odds are a little skinny on Hearts I'm just going to leave this match, although if Hearts carry their form on I think we can sneak it by a goal. NO BET
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Inverness v Dundee Utd
Inverness
Injuries - King, Hogg, Ross, Sutherland
Suspended - Tudur-Jones
Available Squad - Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Foran, Doran, McKay, King, Laing, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Reguero
Probable XI - Esson, Raven, Warren, Meekings, G. Shinnie, Draper, A. Shinnie, Pepper, McKay, Foran, Doran (4-4-2)
Dundee Utd
Injuries - Mackay-Steven
Available squad - Cierzniak, Watson, Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Douglas, Flood, Rankin, Ryan, Russell, Daly, Dow, Armstrong, Millar, Gardyne, Robertson, Vignal, Gauld, Banks
Probable XI - Cierzniak, Watson, McLean, Gunning, Dillon, Vignal, Flood, Ryan, Rankin, Russell, Daly (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 0-2 Dundee Utd
I expect the Dundee Utd manager has kicked some butt after their home 3-0 defeat to Hearts and right enough they did win midweek in the cup. I expect to see them getting back to winning ways up in Inverness, I know a tricky place to go but Utd have a great record against Caly beating them in the last 5 fixtures. Inverness for me are still a bit of a mismatch of players cobbled together by Butcher. If I was offered odds on Terry Butcher moaning after this game I'd be all over it...... AWAY WIN @ 2.4 (William Hill) really appeals!
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Motherwell v Celtic
Motherwell
Injuries - Saunders
Available Squad - Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Hutchinson, Cummins, Law, Lasley, Murphy, Humphrey, Daley, Higdon, Ojamaa, Carswell, McHugh, Ramsden, Francis-Angol, Hetherington, Hollis
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Hutchinson, Ramsden, Hammell, Law , Lasley, Humphrey, Murphy, Higdon, Ojamaa (4-4-2)
Celtic
Injuries - Lassad
Available squad - Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Lustig, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Rogne, Brown, Forrest, Ledley, Kayal, McGeouch, Commons, Wanyama, Ambrose, Hooper, Samaras, Zaluska, Miku, Watt, McCourt
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Forrest, Wanyama, Browm, Commons, Hooper, Miku (4-4-2)
Prediction : Motherwell 1-3 Celtic
Motherwell come into this match on the back of 2 very dissapointing games, 3-1 up on Aberdeen and ending up with a 3-3 draw with the last kick of the ball, then taken apart by 3rd Div Rangers in the 2nd half of the cup midweek. Alarming was how slack they were in defence and again it seems "bottling it" against the old firm which is a big problem for them. In their last 12 games against Celtic they have lost 11 and won 1. I've been surprised in the last couple of matches that McCall has not started with Murphy but surely after their results he will include the player this week. Only worry in this game is that Celtic will have one eye on their away trip to Moscow in the Champoins League on Tuesday. However I'm confident that whatever team Celtic put out will be good enough to win so I will pound the AWAY WIN @ 1.67 (Coral)
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St Mirren v Ross County
St Mirren
Injuries - McGregor, Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Mair, van Zanten, Barron, McAusland, Teale, Imrie, Goodwin, McGowan, Carey, McLean, Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Reilly, Dummett, Parkin, Smith
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barron, Goodwin, McGowan, Carey, McLean, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Ross County
Injuries - Corcoran, Cooper
Available squad - Fraser, Boyd, Munro, Tokely, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Quinn, Duncan, Cooper, Glen, Morrow, McMenamin, Lawson, Scott, Brown, Kovacevic, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Fotheringham
Probable XI - Fraser, Fitzpatrick, Boyd, Munro, Tokely, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Brittain, Quinn, McMenamin, Marrow (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-1 Ross County
St Mirren for me are riding in a bit of a false postion in the league as I see them certainly as bottom 6 material if not bottom 3. People are interested to see whether County's first defeat in donkeys years will see their bubble burst but I think they will get back to, well at least, their unbeaten ways so a LAY of St Mirren @ 2.25 (Betfair) really appeals to me here. Remember Ross County were unbeaten in their previous 40 matches before last weeks loss to St Johnstone
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Aberdeen
Injuries - Fallon, Naysmith
Doubts - Hayes, Fraser
Available Squad - Langfield, Foster, Considine, Anderson, Robertson, Jack, Hughes, Rae, Vernon, Hayes, Osbourne, Megginson, Magennis, Fraser, Smith, Low, McGinn, Reynolds, Milsom, Brown
Probable XI - Langfield, Magennis, Considine, Anderson, Reynolds, Jack, Rae, Hughes, Hayes, Vernon, Fraser (4-3-3)
Hibs
Injuries -
Available squad - Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Claros, Deegan, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Stevenson, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Stanton, Caldwell, Kuqi, Sproule, McGivern, Taiwo, Antell
Probable XI - Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, Maybury, Cairney, Deegan, Wotherspoon, Taiwo, Griffiths, Doyle (4-4-2)
Prediction : Aberdeen 1-1 Hibs
It wasn't the fact that Aberdeen got a predictable draw last time out in the league (albiet with a last second goal) that surprised me but the fact that they actually managed to find 3 goals from nowhere. This doubled their tally for the year but I reckon it was more to do with Motherwell's sudden terrible defence that was also evident against Rangers midweek in the cup. So I'm thinking normal service will be resumed this weekend and we will see a drought of goals and probably that Aberdeen predictable draw! Hibs should welcome back Griffiths and whenever he plays I believe he can score so I'm going to have a tiny pop at Correct Score 1-1 @ 7.0 (William Hill). I believe this game will stay under 2.5 goals.
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Dundee v St Johnstone
Dundee
Injuries - McBride, McCluskey, O'Donnell, Grassi, Finnigan, Stewart
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Toshney, Easton, Gallagher, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Kerr, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, Milne, Boyle, Nish
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, Benedictus, Davidson, Lockwood, Milne, McAllister, Kerr, Conroy, Baird, Nish (4-4-2)
St Johnstone
Injuries -
Suspended - Vine, C. Davidson, Adams
Available squad - Mannus, Mackay, Cregg, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade, Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, Tuffey, MacLean, McCracken, Miller, Pawlett, Caddis, Scobbie, Tobin, Kane
Probable XI - Mannus, Miller, Wright, Anderson, MacKay, Craig, Cregg, Millar, M. Davidson, Hasselbaink, Tade (4-4-2)
Prediction : Dundee 0- 2 St Johnstone
Football is a funny old game......St Johnstone were 3 weeks ago on a disgracefully bad run without a win in ages and now they have won their last 3 games. This includes beating Celtic and then bursting Ross County's unbeaten run! Simply not predictable! One thing I know for sure though is that Dundee are really struggling in the top flight and with just 4pts to their name old Paddy Power will soon be paying out on them getting relegated. Talking about Paddy... I'll be having a large slice of an AWAY WIN @2.3 (Paddy Power) I can also see Tade causing havoc in this game so again I will hit Paddy with TADE ANYTIME SCORER @ 3.25 (Paddy Power)
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Hearts v Kilmarnock
Hearts
Injuries - Prychynenko
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Carrick, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Stevenson, Enckelman
Probable XI - McDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Robinson, Taouil, Stevenson, Driver, Novikovas, Paterson (4-4-1-1)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Perez, Heffernan, Tesselaar, Bell, Hay
Available squad - Letheren, Nelson, O'Leary, Fowler, Pascali, McKeown, Racchi, Dayton, Johnston, Kelly, Harkins, McKenzie, Sheridan, Winchester, Johnson, Jaakkola, Gros, Purshehouse
Probable XI - Letheren, Nelson, O'Leary, Fowler, Pascali, McKeown, Kelly, Dayton, Racchi, Sheridan, Harkins (4-4-2)
Prediction : Hearts 2-1 Kilmarnock
I was away golfing last weekend and most of the lads are jambos, as we arrived at the 19th the barman informed us we had beaten Dundee Utd 3-0 at Tannadice. Not one of us believed him until the tele had to be turned on! Truely a surprise win, or at least the scoreline. Anyway Kilmarnock are becoming a bit of a bogie team for Hearts (much to my cousins delight....) they have beaten Hearts 1, 2 and 3 nil in their last 3 visits. For that reason and the fact that I think the odds are a little skinny on Hearts I'm just going to leave this match, although if Hearts carry their form on I think we can sneak it by a goal. NO BET
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Inverness v Dundee Utd
Inverness
Injuries - King, Hogg, Ross, Sutherland
Suspended - Tudur-Jones
Available Squad - Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Foran, Doran, McKay, King, Laing, Polworth, Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Reguero
Probable XI - Esson, Raven, Warren, Meekings, G. Shinnie, Draper, A. Shinnie, Pepper, McKay, Foran, Doran (4-4-2)
Dundee Utd
Injuries - Mackay-Steven
Available squad - Cierzniak, Watson, Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Douglas, Flood, Rankin, Ryan, Russell, Daly, Dow, Armstrong, Millar, Gardyne, Robertson, Vignal, Gauld, Banks
Probable XI - Cierzniak, Watson, McLean, Gunning, Dillon, Vignal, Flood, Ryan, Rankin, Russell, Daly (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 0-2 Dundee Utd
I expect the Dundee Utd manager has kicked some butt after their home 3-0 defeat to Hearts and right enough they did win midweek in the cup. I expect to see them getting back to winning ways up in Inverness, I know a tricky place to go but Utd have a great record against Caly beating them in the last 5 fixtures. Inverness for me are still a bit of a mismatch of players cobbled together by Butcher. If I was offered odds on Terry Butcher moaning after this game I'd be all over it...... AWAY WIN @ 2.4 (William Hill) really appeals!
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Motherwell v Celtic
Motherwell
Injuries - Saunders
Available Squad - Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Hutchinson, Cummins, Law, Lasley, Murphy, Humphrey, Daley, Higdon, Ojamaa, Carswell, McHugh, Ramsden, Francis-Angol, Hetherington, Hollis
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Hutchinson, Ramsden, Hammell, Law , Lasley, Humphrey, Murphy, Higdon, Ojamaa (4-4-2)
Celtic
Injuries - Lassad
Available squad - Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Lustig, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Rogne, Brown, Forrest, Ledley, Kayal, McGeouch, Commons, Wanyama, Ambrose, Hooper, Samaras, Zaluska, Miku, Watt, McCourt
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Forrest, Wanyama, Browm, Commons, Hooper, Miku (4-4-2)
Prediction : Motherwell 1-3 Celtic
Motherwell come into this match on the back of 2 very dissapointing games, 3-1 up on Aberdeen and ending up with a 3-3 draw with the last kick of the ball, then taken apart by 3rd Div Rangers in the 2nd half of the cup midweek. Alarming was how slack they were in defence and again it seems "bottling it" against the old firm which is a big problem for them. In their last 12 games against Celtic they have lost 11 and won 1. I've been surprised in the last couple of matches that McCall has not started with Murphy but surely after their results he will include the player this week. Only worry in this game is that Celtic will have one eye on their away trip to Moscow in the Champoins League on Tuesday. However I'm confident that whatever team Celtic put out will be good enough to win so I will pound the AWAY WIN @ 1.67 (Coral)
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St Mirren v Ross County
St Mirren
Injuries - McGregor, Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Mair, van Zanten, Barron, McAusland, Teale, Imrie, Goodwin, McGowan, Carey, McLean, Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Reilly, Dummett, Parkin, Smith
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barron, Goodwin, McGowan, Carey, McLean, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Ross County
Injuries - Corcoran, Cooper
Available squad - Fraser, Boyd, Munro, Tokely, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Quinn, Duncan, Cooper, Glen, Morrow, McMenamin, Lawson, Scott, Brown, Kovacevic, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee, Fotheringham
Probable XI - Fraser, Fitzpatrick, Boyd, Munro, Tokely, Kettlewell, Vigurs, Brittain, Quinn, McMenamin, Marrow (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-1 Ross County
St Mirren for me are riding in a bit of a false postion in the league as I see them certainly as bottom 6 material if not bottom 3. People are interested to see whether County's first defeat in donkeys years will see their bubble burst but I think they will get back to, well at least, their unbeaten ways so a LAY of St Mirren @ 2.25 (Betfair) really appeals to me here. Remember Ross County were unbeaten in their previous 40 matches before last weeks loss to St Johnstone
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Friday, 14 September 2012
SPL - Saturday 15th Sept - Team News & Thoughts
St Johnstone v Celtic
St Johnstone
Injuries -
Doutful - C. Davidson, there are a number of unnamed players with a virus also.
Available Squad - Mannus, C Davidson, Wright, MacKay, Anderson, Cregg, Pawlett, Craig, M Davidson, Vine, Tade, Hasselbaink, Higgins, Adams, Miller, Caddis, Tuffey, Rodger
Probable XI - Mannus, C. Davidson, Wright, MacKay, Anderson, Cregg, Craig, M.Davidson, Hasselbaink, Vine, Tade (4-4-2)
Celtic
Injuries - Samaras,
Available Squad - Forster, Matthews, Lustig, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Rogne, Forrest, Commons, Brown, Wanyama, Twardzik, McCourt, Hooper, Keatings, Lassad, Miku, Kamenar, Zaluska, Chalmers, Watt, George
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Brown, Wanyama, Commons, Forrest, Hooper, Miku (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Johnstone 1-3 Celtic
Just think that now Celtic coming back to full strength will have far too much for St Johnstone who are in shocking form and also with the uncertainty over a number of players with some sort of virus going round the club. I've got this down as an easy Celtic win and possible pan out as an embarrassing one for the home side. In the last 19 times these teams have meet Celtic have won 18 times. For me that says all you need to know. I'll be having a large bet on an AWAY WIN @1.44 (Stan James) some might say that price is short, but I think it's an absolute gift! (Santa Clause stuff.....lol)
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Dundee v Motherwell
Dundee
Injuries - Grassi, O'Donnell, Riley, McBride, Finnigan, Stewart, McCluskey
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Toshney, Easton, Gallagher, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Kerr, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, Milne, Boyle, Nish
Probable XI - Douglas, Easton, Irvine, McGregor, Lockwood, Toshney, Davidson, McAllister, Conroy, Baird, Nish (4-4-2)
Motherwell
Injuries - Saunders
Available Squad - Randolph, Kerr, Cummins, Hutchinson, Page, Hammell, Francis-Angol, Hateley, Ramsden, Law, Lasley, Hetherington, Carswell, Humphrey, Daley, Murphy, Ojamaa, Higdon, McHugh, Hollis
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Hutchinson, Ramsden, Hammell, Law, Lasley, Murphy, Daley, Ojamaa, Higdon (4-4-2)
Prediction : Dundee 0-2 Motherwell
Motherwell will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record and with a win will keep them top of the league. Now that they don't have Europe to distract them I can see them kicking on well in the league as long as injuries dont creep in. They have basically a full team to pick from and goal scorers Higdon and Murphy really are on fire at the moment. Dundee have played 2 at home so far and lost them both and I see this season being a real struggle for them. Really cant see them keeping Higdon off the score sheet in this match and thing AWAY WIN @2.1 (William Hill) is certainly worth a go.
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Hibs v Kilmarnock
Hibs
Injuries -
Available Squad - Williams, Antell, Grant, Clancy, Booth, Hanlon, McPake, McGivern, Stephens, Kujabi, Smith, Claros, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Sproule, Stanton, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Maybury, Deegan, Kuqi, Stevenson
Probable XI - Williams, Hanlon, McPake, Clancy, Booth, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Deegan, Stevenson, Doyle, Griffiths (4-4-2)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Tesselaar, Bell, Hay, Heffernan
Available Squad - Letheren, Fowler, O'Leary, Nelson, Kelly, Johnson, Pascali, Racchi, Borja, Winchester, McKenzie, Jaakkola, Gros, Dayton, Boulding, Sheridan, Harkins, O'Hara
Probable XI - Letheren, Fowler, O'Leary, Nelson, Pascali, Johnson, Racchi, Winchester, Dayton, Harkins, Sheridan (4-4-1-1)
Prediction : Hibs 1-0 Kilmarnock
Again going to give Hibs the benefit of the doubt here, actually think they are getting a bit of a better team together (nearly said decent...) Deegan has or will be a key signing for them, as they were desperately needing someone with a bit of bite and dig in the midfield. He strikes me as a leader and that is what they have been lacking in the last few years - heads go down too easily. Kilmarnock should give Sheridan his debut to lead their attack but their team just looks makeshift every week this season. It's a NO BET for me but I would expect a HOME WIN.
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Inverness v Aberdeen
Inverness
Injuries - Ross, Hogg
Available Squad - Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G Shinnie, Tudur Jones, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Foran, Doran, Sutherland, McKay, King, Laing, Polworth, Reguero
Probable XI - Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G.Shinnie, Tudur-Jones, A.Shinnie, Foran, Doran, Sutherland, McKay (4-4-2)
Aberdeen
Injuries - Naysmith, Milsom
Available Squad - Langfield, Brown, Foster, Considine, Anderson, Robertson, Jack, Hughes, Rae, Vernon, Fallon, Hayes, Osbourne, Megginson, Magennis, Fraser, Smith, Low, McGinn, Reynolds
Probable XI - Langfield, Foster, Considine, Anderson, Reynolds, Jack, Rae, Hughes, Hayes, Fallon, McGinn (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 0-1 Aberdeen
Yes, folks it time for Aberdeen to actually get a win instead of their normal draws. On paper they have a decent starting XI with heaps of experience, they just need to simply start finding the back of the net. Inverness took a pumping last time out and I think confidence will still be low. Aberdeen should be able to control this match from midfield with the creative players like Hayes and Hughes. AWAY WIN @ 2.6 (William Hill) appeals to me.
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St Mirren v Hearts
St Mirren
Injuries - McGregor,Adam
Doubts - McLean, Dummett
Available Squad - Samson, Mair, van Zanten, Barron, McAusland, Teale, Imrie, Goodwin, McGowan, Carey, McLean, Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Reilly, Dummett, Parkin, Smith
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barron, Carey, Goodwin, McLean, Imrie, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Hearts
Injuries -
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Carrick, Sutton, Driver, Hamilton, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Stevenson, Enckelman
Probable XI - MacDonald, Paterson, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Barr, McGowan, Robinson, Driver, Stevenson, Sutton (4-1-3-1-1)
Prediction : St Mirren 0-1 Hearts
Both teams teams have identical records here, played 5 won 1 drawn 3 and lost 1. I think Hearts can take a rare away win here tomorrow though and they really need it even at this early stage to keep in touch with the top of the league.
It's sure to be a very tight match and I think under 2.5 goals is almost a certainty but I will stick my neck out and take HEARTS TO BE WINNING AT HALF TIME @ 3.4 (Bet 365)
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St Johnstone
Injuries -
Doutful - C. Davidson, there are a number of unnamed players with a virus also.
Available Squad - Mannus, C Davidson, Wright, MacKay, Anderson, Cregg, Pawlett, Craig, M Davidson, Vine, Tade, Hasselbaink, Higgins, Adams, Miller, Caddis, Tuffey, Rodger
Probable XI - Mannus, C. Davidson, Wright, MacKay, Anderson, Cregg, Craig, M.Davidson, Hasselbaink, Vine, Tade (4-4-2)
Celtic
Injuries - Samaras,
Available Squad - Forster, Matthews, Lustig, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Rogne, Forrest, Commons, Brown, Wanyama, Twardzik, McCourt, Hooper, Keatings, Lassad, Miku, Kamenar, Zaluska, Chalmers, Watt, George
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Brown, Wanyama, Commons, Forrest, Hooper, Miku (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Johnstone 1-3 Celtic
Just think that now Celtic coming back to full strength will have far too much for St Johnstone who are in shocking form and also with the uncertainty over a number of players with some sort of virus going round the club. I've got this down as an easy Celtic win and possible pan out as an embarrassing one for the home side. In the last 19 times these teams have meet Celtic have won 18 times. For me that says all you need to know. I'll be having a large bet on an AWAY WIN @1.44 (Stan James) some might say that price is short, but I think it's an absolute gift! (Santa Clause stuff.....lol)
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Dundee v Motherwell
Dundee
Injuries - Grassi, O'Donnell, Riley, McBride, Finnigan, Stewart, McCluskey
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Toshney, Easton, Gallagher, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister, Baird, McIntosh, Kerr, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, Milne, Boyle, Nish
Probable XI - Douglas, Easton, Irvine, McGregor, Lockwood, Toshney, Davidson, McAllister, Conroy, Baird, Nish (4-4-2)
Motherwell
Injuries - Saunders
Available Squad - Randolph, Kerr, Cummins, Hutchinson, Page, Hammell, Francis-Angol, Hateley, Ramsden, Law, Lasley, Hetherington, Carswell, Humphrey, Daley, Murphy, Ojamaa, Higdon, McHugh, Hollis
Probable XI - Randolph, Hateley, Hutchinson, Ramsden, Hammell, Law, Lasley, Murphy, Daley, Ojamaa, Higdon (4-4-2)
Prediction : Dundee 0-2 Motherwell
Motherwell will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record and with a win will keep them top of the league. Now that they don't have Europe to distract them I can see them kicking on well in the league as long as injuries dont creep in. They have basically a full team to pick from and goal scorers Higdon and Murphy really are on fire at the moment. Dundee have played 2 at home so far and lost them both and I see this season being a real struggle for them. Really cant see them keeping Higdon off the score sheet in this match and thing AWAY WIN @2.1 (William Hill) is certainly worth a go.
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Hibs v Kilmarnock
Hibs
Injuries -
Available Squad - Williams, Antell, Grant, Clancy, Booth, Hanlon, McPake, McGivern, Stephens, Kujabi, Smith, Claros, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Sproule, Stanton, Griffiths, Doyle, Caldwell, Maybury, Deegan, Kuqi, Stevenson
Probable XI - Williams, Hanlon, McPake, Clancy, Booth, Cairney, Wotherspoon, Deegan, Stevenson, Doyle, Griffiths (4-4-2)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - Tesselaar, Bell, Hay, Heffernan
Available Squad - Letheren, Fowler, O'Leary, Nelson, Kelly, Johnson, Pascali, Racchi, Borja, Winchester, McKenzie, Jaakkola, Gros, Dayton, Boulding, Sheridan, Harkins, O'Hara
Probable XI - Letheren, Fowler, O'Leary, Nelson, Pascali, Johnson, Racchi, Winchester, Dayton, Harkins, Sheridan (4-4-1-1)
Prediction : Hibs 1-0 Kilmarnock
Again going to give Hibs the benefit of the doubt here, actually think they are getting a bit of a better team together (nearly said decent...) Deegan has or will be a key signing for them, as they were desperately needing someone with a bit of bite and dig in the midfield. He strikes me as a leader and that is what they have been lacking in the last few years - heads go down too easily. Kilmarnock should give Sheridan his debut to lead their attack but their team just looks makeshift every week this season. It's a NO BET for me but I would expect a HOME WIN.
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Inverness v Aberdeen
Inverness
Injuries - Ross, Hogg
Available Squad - Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G Shinnie, Tudur Jones, Morrison, A Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Foran, Doran, Sutherland, McKay, King, Laing, Polworth, Reguero
Probable XI - Esson, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G.Shinnie, Tudur-Jones, A.Shinnie, Foran, Doran, Sutherland, McKay (4-4-2)
Aberdeen
Injuries - Naysmith, Milsom
Available Squad - Langfield, Brown, Foster, Considine, Anderson, Robertson, Jack, Hughes, Rae, Vernon, Fallon, Hayes, Osbourne, Megginson, Magennis, Fraser, Smith, Low, McGinn, Reynolds
Probable XI - Langfield, Foster, Considine, Anderson, Reynolds, Jack, Rae, Hughes, Hayes, Fallon, McGinn (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 0-1 Aberdeen
Yes, folks it time for Aberdeen to actually get a win instead of their normal draws. On paper they have a decent starting XI with heaps of experience, they just need to simply start finding the back of the net. Inverness took a pumping last time out and I think confidence will still be low. Aberdeen should be able to control this match from midfield with the creative players like Hayes and Hughes. AWAY WIN @ 2.6 (William Hill) appeals to me.
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St Mirren v Hearts
St Mirren
Injuries - McGregor,Adam
Doubts - McLean, Dummett
Available Squad - Samson, Mair, van Zanten, Barron, McAusland, Teale, Imrie, Goodwin, McGowan, Carey, McLean, Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Reilly, Dummett, Parkin, Smith
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barron, Carey, Goodwin, McLean, Imrie, Thompson, Parkin (4-4-2)
Hearts
Injuries -
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas, Carrick, Sutton, Driver, Hamilton, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie, Stevenson, Enckelman
Probable XI - MacDonald, Paterson, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Barr, McGowan, Robinson, Driver, Stevenson, Sutton (4-1-3-1-1)
Prediction : St Mirren 0-1 Hearts
Both teams teams have identical records here, played 5 won 1 drawn 3 and lost 1. I think Hearts can take a rare away win here tomorrow though and they really need it even at this early stage to keep in touch with the top of the league.
It's sure to be a very tight match and I think under 2.5 goals is almost a certainty but I will stick my neck out and take HEARTS TO BE WINNING AT HALF TIME @ 3.4 (Bet 365)
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