We saw one Premiership boss get his P45 last weekend but it wouldn’t have been too much of a surprise had two gaffers bitten the bullet after their Scottish Cup exit.
Motherwell’s 3-1 loss at Raith Rovers saw the curtain come down on Stevie Hammell’s reign as the Fir Park board finally lost patience after a horror run of results.
At the same time, Dundee United were bowing out of the Cup with an insipid display as they crashed 1-0 at home to a Kilmarnock side who couldn’t buy a win on the road.
With the Tannadice side propping up the Premiership table with a marginally worse record than Well, Liam Fox must have been fearing for his own job security.
That loss to Killie made it four defeats in a row and while United’s board are keeping faith with him for now, that will change if their dismal form fails to improve.
So today’s Tayside derby with St Johnstone is massive for Fox as he bids to cut the gap on eighth-placed Saints to just four points in a tight bottom half of the table.
The Arabs boss will take heart from the fact his last league win came at McDiarmid Park back in January and McBookie make United 6/5 favourites to rack up another victory.
But Saints eased their own drop fears with a 2-0 win at Fir Park on their last Premiership away day and also won 2-1 at Tannadice back in October.
That makes it a tough one to call and betting on a tight game looks the best option.
The half-time draw is 11/10 at SkyBet and McBookie price a one-goal winning margin for either side at 5/4, with that bet landing for me in last week’s Tannadice cup tie.
We should see a few tasty tackles and Saints midfielder Daniel Phillips appeals for a card at 11/8 with Bet365 after collecting six yellows in just 13 appearances this season.
Rangers haven’t put a foot wrong in the title race since Michael Beale took over, matching Celtic stride for stride.
They face a major test this afternoon though with a trip to the Tony Macaroni Arena one of the most dangerous in the top flight.
Livi came so close to beating Gers at Ibrox back on October, only for Jon Lundstram to score a last-minute equaliser.
Rangers have also slipped up a few times on the astro in West Lothian but their recent record there is decent, with four successive victories.
That’s why McBookie make them 4/11 hot favourites, although the odds increase to 5/4 if you back an away win to nil.
That looks decent value as Gers have kept clean sheets on their last two away days, despite having some problems at home.
Celtic host Aberdeen and it will be interesting to see if Barry Robson parks the bus after Jim Goodwin copped stick for that approach in their 1-0 loss to Hoops at home in December.
We should see plenty of corners for Ange Postecoglou’s men and Bet365 price Celtic -5 in the corner handicap at a tempting evens.
Kilmarnock will be hoping that Cup win on Tayside last weekend has cured their road sickness.
But they are outsiders at 15/4 with McBookie to beat a Hibs side who have been picking up form of late.
Lee Johnson’s men have picked up seven points from their last three league games and battered Aberdeen 6-0 in their last outing at Easter Road.
Elie Youan has scored in his last three games and the Frenchman looks overpriced at 12/5 (Bet365) to add to that tally today.
Ross County’s form has also picked up but they travel to a St Mirren side who have been red hot in Paisley this season. I fancy BTTS in this one and it pays evens at McBookie.
Hearts head to Motherwell for tomorrow’s live TV game and I’m surprised to see the Jambos at odds-against. They’re in great form so I’m backing them at 6/4 (QuinnBet) to win.
Super Singles
- Phillips card (11/8, Bet365)
- Rangers win to nil (5/4, McBookie)
- Celtic -5 corner h’cap (Evs, Bet365)
- Hearts to win at M’Well (6/4, QuinnBet)
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