Alloa v Morton
The Scottish Premiership stands aside for now, so here are out Jan 12 Scottish Championship betting tips. Alloa Athletic welcome Greenock Morton to Indodrill Stadium for the second time this season when the Scottish Championship rivals face-off on league business. The Wasps lost 2-0 last time but made up for it when claiming a rare win at Cappielow back in November by the same score; this means the head-to-head for the season is evenly balanced going into Saturday’s clash. The locals were given a helping hand when scoring the three points in Greenock against all the odds; Trouten smashed home from the penalty spot on 73 minutes before Flannigan did the same on 85. Two penalties were awarded and Alloa was shrewd enough to make them count.
That remains one of only four league wins for Alloa this season who stand with stats of 4-8-8; this bad run leaves them dangerously close to the relegation zone, bottom club Partick Thistle five points behind and an improving Falkirk in ninth four off the pace. Fans cast a nervous glance over their shoulder as we get into the thick of winter; however, they can take heart from the fact their team are unbeaten in five and within four points of Dunfermline in seventh. That purple patch shows two wins and three draws, including a share of the spoils last time out. Alloa deserves credit for holding The Pars to a 2-2 at East End Park last weekend.
Ton Must Build on Big Win
It’s fair to say Morton have been unconvincing of late as they continue their rebuilding project, both on and off the park; however, they did claim a big win last Friday night in front of the BBC cameras when beating league leaders Ross County 1-0 at Cappielow. The Greenock side upset the odds when smashing their way to a stunning three points in their first outing of 2019 courtesy of a goal from Kerr Waddell on 66 minutes. The Staggies tried to find a way back into the tie but ended on a low when seeing Fraser sent off for a second bookable offence in stoppage-time at the end of the night.
Seven wins, seven draws and six defeats show a lack of consistency; however, it’s currently good enough for a place in the promotion play-off slots, sitting one point better than Queen of the South and five better than Dundee Utd in third. Automatic promotion and a title win already looks beyond them with Ayr United having an 11-point cushion, but followers of Scottish football’s second-tier know nothing can be taken for granted. The Ton has now won each of their last two, that result over County following a 2-1 in Glasgow vs Partick Thistle at the tail-end of last year. A strong foundation on which to launch their assault on the prize places.
Visitors Look Value
Morton is on the road and faces a side with an unbeaten run to protect; however, they won here at a canter earlier in the season and we make them good enough to repeat the feat and nail down a hat-trick that would breathe new life into their promotion push. Giving two penalties away in the loss to Alloa at Cappielow can be forgiven and we’re happy to forget and move on, trusting the away win in our betting tips. Back Morton at a value 37/19 – top price with Unibet.
Fancy the upset? This is a competitive division and we certainly wouldn’t be in a rush to put anyone off a bet on Alloa, if that was their preference. Backers of the locals can get their hands on 6/5 at Unibet. Decent, but it’s really not a quote that grabs our attention. The draw is 12/5 outsider of three with the same firm and you’ll find no bookie in a more generous mood. A third 2-0 correct score on the bounce may be worth a bet at interest stakes with 14/1 at Bet365.
Our Tip: Mortin to win – 37/19 at Unibet
Inverness v Ayr United
Inverness were priced as one of the pre-season favourites to force a top tier return this season but the highlanders have continued to underperform and go into game 20 of their season with stats of five wins, 11 draws and three defeats. They have the same number of losses as Ross County and Ayr United – the top-two teams in the division – but an incredible run of draws has left them in midtable.
Followers of the stats will know Caley went on an eye-catching run of draws during the first half of the season but train for this match on the back of two defeats in-a-row; they were beaten 2-1 by Ross County on 29 December before falling to Queen of the South last week by the same score. Walsh gave ICT the lead on 69 minutes, but Mercer levelled things up on 83 before Dobbie did what he does best less than a minute later, scoring the winning goal. That puts us off a home win at 8/5 (Coral). Somehow many bookies have them favourite.
Honest Men to Continue Their Form
It’s impossible not to be impressed by Ayr United this season and they go into the new year with every chance of blasting their way to the Scottish Premiership by winning the title. The Honest Men stand 10-6-3 and are just three points off Ross County with a game in hand. They’ve lost just one of their last five games at this level, but the spare did come last time when falling to relegation-threatened Falkirk at home.
Rudden scored the game’s only goal early in the second half and although it went down as a shock result, there’s reason to believe it shouldn’t have as Ayr had drawn their previous three, including a 1-1 away to Queen of the South on 29 December. The Ayr United win looks sublime value at 17/10 – top price with Unibet – the same firm giving a standout 12/5 on the draw, which will be hard to ignore given the stats of both teams. A narrow Ayr win to pile pressure on Inverness.
Our Tip: Ayr United to win – 17/10 at Unibet
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