Next month Hearts have the chance to hold both national cup competitions at the same time when they face St Mirren in the League Cup final having lifted the Scottish Cup back in May.
But in the league, it has been a dismal campaign so far for John McGlynn's side.
Only St Mirren and Dundee sit below them in the SPL table and on Saturday they face Europe-chasing Inverness, the side they knocked out in the League Cup semis.
Last weekend we took advantage of a big price on Kilmarnock at Tynecastle and it paid dividends and again we will be opposing the Jam Tarts.
As mentioned last week, they already had a young side but are now missing captain Marius Zaliukas through injury, Ryan Stevenson due to suspension and Andy Driver who has departed to the USA.
All of the above makes things even harder for McGlynn's youngsters. This is a trying time both on and off the field for the club and they need as many experienced heads around as possible in front of an demanding home crowd.
A few weeks ago we would have been all over Caley Thistle in this one but Terry Butcher's men have slumped a bit of late and have lost four of their last five since the semi-final defeat, although performances have remained fairly steady.
With that in mind, just under 2s looks a bit short on an away win. Instead we will be a little bit more ambitious and back Inverness/Inverness in the half time/full time market given that in each of their 10 league defeats, Hearts have been trailing at half time as well.
Inverness have only lost away three times all season but two of them have come in the last month so only a small punt is required on a side that have proved themselves on the road plenty of times.
Elsewhere, it surely won't be too long before James McFadden gets off the mark for Motherwell.
The Scotland international has missed a lot of football over the last few years and is likely to be a substitute again for the club he started his career at.
He may lack sharpness and may only play a small part in the game but if he still has that spark and imagination of a few years ago, he can still do some damage in the SPL.
He's 12/5 to score at anytime against Ross County on Saturday. It's a bit of a stab in the dark because we don't know how good he is at this stage of his career but it's worth taking a chance at that price.
Click here for completely free £10 bet with Sky Bet & £5 free every week
Post Comment
