Football betting tips: Scottish Premiership
2pts e.w. Dundee United (+37) to win the handicap at 9/1 (bet365 1/4 1,2,3)
1pt e.w. Zac Sapsford to be the Scottish Premiership top goalscorer at 40/1 (bet365, BoyleSPORTS 1/4 1,2,3)
It'll be quite the struggle to replicate anything close to the conclusion to last season's title race in Scotland's top-flight.
Hearts - the plucky underdog - held the advantage on the final day where they met perennial champions Celtic in Glasgow. While the neutral was hoping for something new, the outcome was the same as it ever was.
The scenes which followed weren't quite a recreation of David Byrne's bizarre moves in Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime but the understandable pitch invasion after Celtic's goal which sealed it somewhat overshadowed the outcome.
Ultimately, they were the better team on the day and a wealth of experience in big-game scenarios came to the fore. It's a huge ask for Hearts to produce a repeat this time around.
Then-Hearts boss Derek McInnes has left for the Rangers job with star striker Lawrence Shankland following him to Ibrox. As ever, the feeling among supporters there will be one of optimism at this start point of the campaign.
Celtic are made 5/6 favourites in places to secure the crown once again and while they may not feel like the force of old it's certainly a hard price to ignore.
Some may see it good enough to side with as a single yet it's likely to be a popular pick in the season-long accumulators. I'd not turn anyone off them at that sort of price.
Yet it won't feature here, as much as there's temptation to stick a few points behind it. Instead, exploring the handicap market may open up some value.
The one team I'm looking towards is DUNDEE UNITED who are given 37 points. They were unable to replicate their showings of 24/25 in the previous season.
Now I'm sure this is a line you'll love to hear after I've stated the selection. It has the feel of a pick which will either do it or come absolutely nowhere near and end in humiliation...but it's a risk I'm willing to take.
Why? Because yet again we've seen wholesale changes at Tannadice. A number of players have left with new faces in to replace them - so many of which are intriguing prospects.
Jim Goodwin won't quite have an entirely new squad to work with but as has been the case across recent summers, the turnaround is significant. That, of course, can go either way.
There's a distinct Oceania feel to some of their business. Australian duo Joshua Rawlins and Lachlan Rose are in as is New Zealand's Jesse Randall who featured for them at the World Cup.
Idjessi Metsoko is another of the attacking reinforcements and it's difficult to place the exact impact he'll make having spent last season playing in the second tier of Slovakian football - they may have unearthed a gem; they may have a player who delivers very little.
It does feel like they've injected a bit of pace into this side with some of their recruitment, although it's the defensive side of things where we need to see real improvement in the new campaign.
The Terrors were one of the worst sides in Scotland's top division for chances allowed to their opponents last season and yet four teams conceded more than they did. Fail to address that and the underlying numbers will likely catch up with them.
But they may be able to pivot to a more effective counter-attacking approach when required. Defend first and break forward when the opportunity presents itself - it could see them secure a few surprise results along the way.
It may also be one thing which turns the draws into wins - another issue of the previous campaign. No side drew more games than they did (15), yet they were middle of the pack for games won and lost.
Goodwin will be demanding of his squad and we don't quite know how they'll react at tough points of the season. However, they've demonstrated what they can achieve under his guidance and while he may draw some criticism, he's shown to be a capable operator at the level.
I have them right on the line of the split currently but that's perhaps down to the tricky nature of working out what to expect from a new group of players. With questions of Aberdeen and Motherwell especially, they may well challenge and finish above that duo.
The +37 is such a big figure that a finish which can be categorised as 'pleasing' may well be enough to do it. Motherwell finished three clear on the handicap last season given 44 points, with Falkirk third with +50 just below Hearts.
If they can secure between 50 and 55 points as a minimum this campaign, there's every chance of returns on the selection.
Sticking with the Dundee United Australian party and one player who is known to supporters, ZAC SAPSFORD, could enjoy a solid season in front of goal. He is 40/1 to be the league's TOP GOALSCORER.
At 23, the forward has plenty of experience at senior level with just shy of 100 appearances in the A-League and Scottish Premiership. He netted nine in 38 last time out.
Sapsford though was playing a lot of football and it's something Goodwin has discussed in the days before the new season starts. An extended summer break seems to have done the trick.
"Zac tired in the middle part of the season and we took him out of the team, tried to give him a bit of freshness and he finished the campaign strongly for us," the manager told The Courier.
"The break was important for a lot of members of the squad, but certainly Zac; he needed it."
The new campaign starts with three goals in four League Cup outings. Lower level opposition, sure, but a positive sign for the months to come.
It's also interesting that he's been operating on the left in three of those contests. He's comfortable playing through the middle as well but as a right-footed left winger, shot volume will likely increase and that could led to more scoring chances.
They probably won't be a high-scoring side but then this award hasn't required a huge amount of goals to land it. Motherwell's Tawanda Maswanhise netted 17 to win in 25/26 with Rangers' Cyriel Dessers on 18 the season prior.
In what may be a Dundee United season which goes either way, Sapsford looks like he could have a real breakthrough campaign.
Odds correct at 17:00 BST (28/07/26)
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