Football Bet of the Day: Accies to add to Stranraer’s struggles

Saturday brings more action from the Scottish League Cup’s group stage, which got underway last weekend. Scottish sides have had a game or two to warm up to some early-season competitive action and we already have a little bit of form to go off.

Of course, last season’s results are still fresh in the memory, which means there’s plenty to go off when it comes to selecting the standout bet from Saturday’s busy League Cup offering. Without further delay, here is Saturday's football bet of the day...

Football Odds

Hamilton Academical chase their first win of the campaign on Saturday, having started with a 0-0 draw against Stirling Albion last weekend. The Accies also lost the penalty shoot-out which takes place after draws in the group stage, costing them a vital bonus point.

Hamilton are already up against it, sitting two points shy of second and five behind leaders Raith Rovers. With three games left to play, they can still turn things around starting with Saturday’s visit to Stranraer.

Stranraer are bottom of Group H after losing their opening two matches. The League Two side have a poor record in this competition, suffering 10 defeats in their last 11 League Cup starts.

That run includes a 5-2 drubbing when these two sides last crossed paths back in 2022. Stranraer have conceded 34 times across those 11 matches, including a 3-1 loss to Ross County and a 2-1 defeat to Raith in this summer’s group stage.

Stranraer head into this one as 11/2 outsiders, with Hamilton a very short 4/11 favourite. That’s understandable considering the gulf between the pair, with the hosts finishing bottom of the fourth tier last season, losing half of their 36 league games.

Stranraer vs Hamilton Academical Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Stranraer vs Hamilton Academical page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Hamilton won promotion from League 1 last season and they had an impressive regular season campaign where they were strong on the road. The Accies won 12 of their 18 away trips in the third division, while they finished the season with six wins from seven including the play-offs.

However, five of those six wins saw Hamilton concede, suggesting there is some vulnerability in their backline. The Accies scored enough goals to overcome that and they’re expected to do the same against a Stranraer side who shipped 53 goals across 36 matches in League 2.

The home side did manage to average 1.5 goals per game at their own ground last season and they’ve put up a fight so far this summer. Scoring against a Premiership side in Ross County and a beaten Championship play-off contender in Raith shows Stranraer can cause problems going forward.

However, Hamilton make this trip unbeaten in eight League Cup games excluding shootouts and given Stranraer’s awful record in this competition and their defensive struggles, they look good to edge a high-scoring game.

Both teams to score can be backed at 4/6, but with a significant gulf in quality between the sides Hamilton to win and concede appeals at 13/8.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 50% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

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