The group phase of the Scottish League Cup is well underway and has already provided bags of early season entertainment. We’re hoping that will continue this weekend with a tasty BTTS treble that could turn our £10 stake into the best part of £50.
We’ve picked three matches that we expect to bring goals at both ends. There’s certainly plenty of reason to believe that all six teams can find the target. So, let’s hope that they do just that.
Good luck!
Forfar Athletic v Stirling Albion
Having opened their campaign with a penalty defeat following a 1-1 draw at Brechin, Gary Bollan’s Forfar enter Saturday’s clash with Stirling Albion knowing that only a win will do in their bid to progress out of Group A. While they can be confident about getting the victory, they shouldn’t expect to have things all their own way at Station Park.
The hosts hit an incredible 69 goals in 36 regular season league games en route to promotion last term, including 11 in four games against their weekend opponents. With confidence running high ahead of a season in a higher division, they’ll be expected to open their home account in style.
Stirling did score in both trips to Forfar last term, though, and did score in their opening away trip of Group A in a 4-1 loss at Falkirk. The fact that they almost certainly won’t progress after two opening defeats may also enable the visitors to play with a little more freedom, which could work well for both parts of this bet.
Dave MacKay’s side may be in for a difficult test, but we fancy them to score. With this in mind, we’re predicting a BTTS winner.
Inverness CT v Falkirk
Staying in Group A, Inverness and Falkirk each know that a win in Saturday’s encounter at the Tulloch should put them on course to top the group. Let’s hope that leads to a game of goals.
Inverness have already picked up two wins, scoring three in their previous home game against Brechin. While this fixture will inevitably be a lot tougher, Gary Warren and co. can be confident about their chances in front of goal.
The visitors have only played one game so far, but that 4-1 hammering of Stirling underlines that their attacking players know where the goal is. Peter Houston’s men registered 58 league goals last term too. There’s no reason to think they can’t score against a side that, albeit playing in a higher division last season, conceded 71 in 2016-17.
Thee sides will both be expected to compete for promotion in the Scottish Championship, and this could be a great chance to make a signal of intent before the league campaign has even started. It should be an interesting affair, and we’re backing both teams to score.
Livingston v Airdrie
Livingston and Airdrie produced plenty of drama during their five meetings in 2016-17, with a total of 21 goals being scored during that period. Despite the fact that they’ll be playing in different league this term, we have every reason to believe this will be an equally entertaining battle.
The most recent clash at the Tony Macaroni ended in a 4-2 win for the hosts, and David Hopkin’s men will be eager for another victory here. They certainly boast the attacking arsenal and, despite being deducted a point, know that a third win on the spin would put them within touching distance of winning a competitive Group H.
Airdrie do score goals, though, as was shown once more in their opening 3-1 win over Stranraer. Despite being the underdogs here, Jordan Duncan and co. can cause problems for the hosts. Even if they don’t win, we’d expect them to score.
In truth, we wouldn’t be overly surprised to see this one go to penalties. As long as both teams find the target, though, we couldn’t care less either way.
