Are Rangers the most impressive side in Scotland at the moment? Yes.
Are Hamilton the side who cough up the most possession and happily sit there waiting for their own destruction? Also, yes. But there’s other elements at play here that I’d like to tackle, even if the Hamilton back four wouldn’t.
How many times have you seen a price like Hamilton’s for 90 minutes of football at home? And look, I’m not saying you should be backing them here – I’m merely saying that the Rangers of old have a habit of capitulating at the strangest times possible and this seems the most obvious, glaring pothole of the lot.
With that being said, Rangers will be winning this tie. There’s plenty of betting angles to assess here, especially given the naturally contrasting styles, so here are my three best bets for this mammoth Scottish Premiership tie.
Have I sold it well enough, do you think?
Half-Time Result: Draw
Let me explain this one. If you watch back Hamilton’s defeat of Motherwell last week, you will notice two things; the first of which I will outline now.
For the 2019/20 season, Fon Williams was in nets for the Accies and while it’s hard to find too many holes in his form, he’s joined Dunfermline and Hamilton have had to promote stopper Ryan Fulton to the first XI. It’s been no bad thing.
He was faultless against Motherwell and looked like someone headed for better things in time. He was calm under the high ball, pushing shots away rather than palming back into danger and clearly vocal at the right times.
Now, if his back four can actually just close down some of those long-range efforts, we’ll be in business.
Both Teams to Score
What do Hamilton have in abundance? Not a lot, admittedly.
But what they do have is a player type that not too many in the Scottish Premiership have – and that’s Mario Ogkmpoe.
The Greek striker flies after every single ball, possesses outrageous pace and is deadly in the air. Any long ball isn’t a lost cause with him, and he will torment Steven Gerrard’s men.
Add this to the fact Hamilton are one of the best sides from set pieces in the country. If you don’t believe me, watch how creative they were last week at Fir Park. Even from the winner aside, everything was pre-rehearsed and not one ball into the box hit the first man.
Hakeem Odoffin to score anytime
Strike while the iron is hot.
He takes the near post on corners and his 6ft 3’ frame combined with the leap he has should see him cause serious problems.
Rangers’ focus hasn’t really been tested too often this season – could this be the blip that sees Gerrard kicking off in the dressing room? Maybe.
* Prices on our snazzy new bet widget are bang up to date.
Hamilton v Rangers tips summary:
Half-Time Result: Draw
Both Teams to Score
Hakeem Odoffin to score anytime
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