It is nearly time for kick off in the main European leagues and all the betting opportunities they present but there is still enough to get our teeth stuck into this weekend. Top flight football is back in Scotland and the MLS has been going for some months so we’ve gone through the fixtures and picked out three accumulators of increasing odds. Whether you want an easy winner, a medium risk treble or a long shot, we’ve got you covered.
Easy Winner – 3/1 (Sky Bet)
- Celtic to beat Ross County (1/6) – Celtic get their title defence underway with what should be a routine home win against Ross County. Ronny Deila’s team just about did enough to beat FK Qarabag of Azerbaijan on Wednesday showing that they are fit and ready to get their domestic season going.
- Inverness CT to beat Motherwell (3/4) – Motherwell clung on to their Premiership status by the skin of their teeth last season, eventually coming through the promotion/relegation play-off. Inverness on the other hand had a great season, finishing third and winning the Scottish Cup. They must be expected to win in front of their own fans on match day one.
- DC United to beat Real Salt Lake City (19/20) – DC United are at the top of the Eastern Conference having played 23 games. They play Real Salt Lake City from the Western Conference who are currently seventh in that league. DC have three wins from their last four MLS home games whereas Real Salt Lake are poor on their travels. Expect DC to send their fans home happy once more.
Medium Risk – 19/2 (BetVictor)
- Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls over 2.5 goals (31/40) – Under half of all MLS games this season have had three or more goals but both of these sides are comfortably above that average. With the Red Bulls fancying their chances in an away game where they don’t have too much travelling to do we expect this one to contain plenty of goals.
- New York City v Montreal Impact over 2.5 goals (4/6) – Montreal are the MLS’s entertainers. Almost 80% of their games have had three or more goals. They play a strengthened City side who are looking to quickly improve on their league position. With some very good players on show this should live up to the expectations of a match involving Montreal.
- St Johnstone to beat Hearts (13/5) – Hearts have a tricky first match on their return to the top flight of Scottish football. They host St Johnstone who finished fourth last season and who returned to pre-season early due to their Europa League commitments. They were knocked out in the first qualifying round but their extra fitness could be the difference.
Long Shot – 140/1 (Bet365)
- Celtic to beat Ross County 3-0 (11/2) – Although Celtic are overwhelming favourites once again they’ll want to come out of the traps flying to let the rest of the league know how difficult it will be to overthrow them. A 3-0 win is well within their grasp and goes into our long odds treble.
- David Villa to score first against Montreal (10/3) – The former Barcelona and Valencia forward is enjoying being the main man in the New York City attack. With Andrea Pirlo likely to start against Montreal, Villa will get even better service than he’s had this season and is the man to get the fireworks going.
- Bradley Wright Phillips to score first against Philadelphia Union (4/1) – Last season’s MLS top scorer hasn’t quite hit the same heights this season but with eight goals to his name he remains a threat. The Red Bulls have a great chance to win against Union and Wright Phillips could be the man to get the ball rolling.