Scottish Premier - 01/02 October

[Beanie]

You're right Milners - and I can't say I'd want to trust either half of the Old Firm with any of my money right now.

If Fernandez misses out i'll be with you on that DNB there Chips

Off to finalise my bets just now.

[Beanie]

Hmmm...but I'm gonna...that H2H record is just too much to pass by...

Rangers v Dunfermline

Rangers

A midweek loss to Inter, but by no means a disappointing performance from Rangers, who held out well at the back and only lost out to a fairly fortuitous deflected goal in the end. More than that though, they will have been further boosted by the Porto result(loss to Artmedia) which puts Rangers in a strong position to go on and qualify from the group.

In the league Rangers have had problems, culminating in a loss to Hearts last week which leaves them 11 points behind the league leaders. Further losses to Hibs and Aberdeen, and a draw with Falkirk has heaped the pressure on Alec McLeish, and their frailties have been obvious, none more so that in defence where players like Rodrigues and Bernard have not performed to the standards that the fans' demand.

However, this match represents the perfect chance for them to get their season back on track. Its a similar matchup to the fixture vs Livingston at Ibrox which finished 3-0(which I also backed the -2 Asian in) and for a defence looking for a clean sheet to restore confidence, a Dunfermline side which has notched just 6 goals in 8 games represents a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Dunfermline

Slow and steady improvement for Dunfermline, who have beaten both Killie and Dundee United in recent weeks, but their away league form still leaves much to be desired, having notched just 2 points from their 4 matches, one to bottom side Livingston and one to 10 man Hibs.

Scott Thompson and Mark Burchill return for Dunfermline, but that could be a blessing in disguise for Rangers given the performances of those two this season. Burchill has been poor in front of goal, scoring just once in the league and failing to live up to the club's expectations. Thompson, the club captain, has looked hopelessly exposed vs quality strikeforces, most obvious vs Celtic where he was ripped apart vs Zurawski.

H2Hs

This is the clincher here, and the stats speak for themselves:

Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 3:0
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 4:1
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 4:0
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 6:1
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 3:0
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 3:0
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 4:0
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 2:0
Glasgow Rangers Dunfermline 4:1

The last 9 games at Ibrox have all seen home successes by atleast 2 goals(8 by 3) with an aggregate score of 33:3.

Dunfermline's appaling record vs the Old Firm is no secret, and even with Champions league exertions and an improvement in the Fife side, I'll back the asian handicap here.

2pts Rangers -2(Asian) @ 1.93 with Pinnacle.

[Beanie]

Fernandez will play for United...might give that miss I think

[kompressaur]

I like the look of that Rangers -2 Beanie. They do usually give dunfermline a doing dont they.

[Beanie]

Stats don't lie Komp - even during Dunfermline's good season in 03/04 where they finished 4th under Calderwood Rangers still polished them off 4:0 and 4:1 at Ibrox.

There's a few danger signs as I mentioned which will have me keeping stakes lower than normal, but a near evens chance on something that has happened 8 out of the 9 previous times, with stake returned on the other, looks worth a nibble to me.

[MickeyPaul]

Bah! I just popped in to comment on Dundee Utd v Killie over 2.5 - fine, I agree with you lot. I reckon Utd are due another 4-5 Motherwell style match - well maybe not but I do like the over 2.5 although the odds are not quite what I'd be willing to take. For some reason I'm attracted to Utd HT/FT @ 4.6 Betfair but I realise the madness of it so won't.

I do however fancy a wee nibble of ICT HT/FT @ 10/1 Bet365 and I agree the 6.00's for the old fashioned (2) look very tempting indeed (although best I could see is 5.5 now). Hibs will be knackered, pure and simple and ICT are certainly capable of snatching the points there.

Hibernian v Inverness CT (Sun)

Some Hibernian players picked up minor knocks in the midweek Uefa Cup defeat to Dnipro, but none are serious.
Defender Gary Smith and midfielder Scott Brown are still missing but are likely to be the only absentees.

Inverness CT player-manager Craig Brewster has Stuart Golabek (groin), Roy McBain (knee) and Liam Keogh (groin) out for the game with Hibs.

Richard Hastings should be fit after injury, while Stuart McCaffrey and Graham Bayne lack match fitness.

[Parahandy]

Don't in any shape or form see Livvy stopping Celtic. Yes, the Hoops have been making rather heavy weather of things but they have improved in recent weeks even if there is still a long way to go. Results are what count and Celtic are winning again regularly.

I think Livvy's last two results have masked the issue. A win against a seriously understrength Hearts team, a few days before the Jambos biggest game of the season to date, followed by a fortunate draw against an out of form Aberdeen and people are saying they've turned the corner. I hope they do but this isn't clear evidence in my eyes. Only a week before these matches Hearts murdered them and were 3 up in no time.

Celtic aren't the team they were but looking at this objectively, they have far too much for Livvy and I expect them to win this match comfortably.

Rangers at -2 on the AH does look a good bet at near evens, though I wouldn't be as confident Celtic will win by 3.

[Beanie]

Im of the same mind Para - wins for both, with perhaps Rangers the more confident thrashing of the two Livingston will perhaps restrict it to a 2 goal loss.

Still umming and ahhing over a few of these...getting no closer to making a decision. I still quite like that Motherwell price, as well as the overs in that one, but for some reason can't get 2-0 Aberdeen out of my head

Killie look good on paper at that price...but with them too I've just got the feeling they haven't got much hope - maybe a 2-1 Utd or 1-1 scoreline.

One of those days where gut feelings are mucking me up

[MickeyPaul]

Woooooo, ICT hold on to win 1-2. Impressive result for them.

[Beanie]

Yep...good job everyone who had the balls to back the X2, or even just the away

Found I was tying myself in knots looking at the bets for today so just gave it a swerve and will wait for the internationals.

But some good fancies with the Hearts over and the ICT win on here - I've found Sunday Scottish games to be the most lucrative ones and it looks the same elsewhere.

[milners]

Thing is Inverness away form is so impressive before Aberdeen defeat of them in February 5th only Celtic has beaten them which was last week. They are impressive on the road and that includes a 1-1 draw at Rangers and a 2-0 win at hearts although hearts had major injury problems for that game as i remember as i got them on 5/1 like today. There record after the Aberdeen defeat so far is 5-5-1

[milners]

If fact the Aberdeen game was the Scottish Cup but they are actually 6-5-1 with a defeat from Dundee in 15th January!!!

[Brew'sXI]

Originally Posted by milners

Thing is Inverness away form is so impressive before Aberdeen defeat of them in February 5th only Celtic has beaten them which was last week. They are impressive on the road and that includes a 1-1 draw at Rangers and a 2-0 win at hearts although hearts had major injury problems for that game as i remember as i got them on 5/1 like today. There record after the Aberdeen defeat so far is 5-5-1

Our next away game is against Livi, make the record 6-1-1

[Beanie]

[Brew'sXI]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Nah, only joking Beanie, should be a good game, our closest thing to a derby.I still think we'll do you though.