Football Bet of the Day: Expect Perth parity on Monday night

St Johnstone and Aberdeen will kick-start their Scottish Premiership campaigns on Monday night when they go head-to-head at McDiarmid Park.

Saints avoided the relegation playoffs last season but only thanks to a superior goal difference over Ross County, while Aberdeen had a campaign to forget as the club’s experiment with journeyman manager Neil Warnock failed to have the desired impact at Pittodrie Stadium.

The Dons now have Swedish coach Jimmy Thelin at the helm and, while he would be hoping to kick-start his time in the Premiership with a win, the Reds might well have to head back up the east coast from Perth with a point to show for their efforts on Monday night. Below you can find the details of my Football Bet of the Day. 

Date: Monday August 5, 2024
Time: 20:00
Location: McDiarmid Park, Perth, Scotland

St Johnstone will be eager to put last season’s Premiership struggles behind them and avoid another nervy end to a campaign this term.

The key to that, and one of the first things manager Craig Levein will look to address over the coming weeks, is to make McDiarmid Park a tougher place for opposition sides to go to and win.

Saints’ last home win in the Premiership was on December 16, 2023 and they have gone nine league games at McDiarmid Park since without a victory.The only matches Saints have not lost in that winless spell have all ended in 1-1 draws.

A similar result might well be on the cards on Monday night against an Aberdeen side who St Johnstone faced four times in the Premiership last season.

Football Odds

Two of those four games ended in draws, with a goalless tie at Pittodrie followed by a 1-1 stalemate the last time these teams met in Perth, in January.

Over the years, goals have certainly been at a premium in this particular fixture, with under 2.5 total goals being scored in 20 of their last 21 meetings.

With the two teams venturing out on their opening games of the league campaign, expect both sides to be a little rusty after the summer break.

Thelin will still be getting to grips with this squad and a point on the road would not be a bad start for a Dons side who will be eager to get back to their former place as the best of the rest behind frontrunners Celtic and Rangers.

A draw would also be a solid, if not remarkable start for a Saints side who have found it so difficult to pick up Premiership wins on their own patch.

Considering the recent results between these two teams, going for a draw and under 2.5 total points has plenty of merit and an attractive price of 3/1 to go with it.

Offers

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You can read all our latest Football Bets of the Day at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.