Dundee v Hamilton / Excelsior v Den Haag – 13/5 Double

Dundee v Hamilton

Neither Dundee nor Hamilton have made terrible starts to the new campaign and, despite not making ideal starts, both will be reasonable confident ahead of this one. The hosts, after winning first time up, went on to lose 2-1 at home last time out. Although losing 2-1 against Rangers is never a disgrace, unless of course you’re Celtic! Hamilton, on the other hand, having drawn 1-1 with Rangers on the opening day (again, a strong result), suffered a disappointing 2-1 home loss to Kilmarnock last time out. Both teams will be looking to bounce back here.

At times in those games there was reason to believe that both of these sides could fare reasonably well this season, but there were also times where you might think that the pair will struggle. It could be an up and down season for both. One thing that has remained a constant in their combined four matches is goals. There has been a minimum of three goals in both of Dundee’s opening two matches and in one of Hamilton’s.

From a betting point of view, goals are the way to go tonight. ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ is the bet to be on. Both sides are likely to fancy their chances for this one, and, given that each have positives to draw on from their opening two games, a case could be made for either side. More importantly, what this should add up to is an attacking game.

Dundee’s four goals in two matches proves that they are a capable side going forward, although the fact that they’ve conceded three suggests that they aren’t the strongest at the back. As for Hamilton, having scored two and conceded three in their two games, they’re in much the same boat. With the hosts chasing their first victory in front of a home crowd this season they are expected to play on the front foot and, considering how well they’ve already done going forward, you’d fancy them to cause the Hamilton defence plenty of problems. However, at the same time, the visitors shouldn’t be without chances of their own and they too can create openings, especially on the counter.

Excelsior v Den Haag

Onto Holland, where the game in question sees two of the league’s early form teams go head-to-head. Having both won each of their opening two games, Excelsior and Den Haag are sat in second and third place in the table on six points each. Excelsior started the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Twente, before defeating Groningen 2-0 next time out. Whereas Den Haag opened their account with a convincing 3-0 victory over G.A. Eagles on the opening day, before claiming a 2-1 victory away at Vitesse last Saturday.

To complete the double, the bet to go for here is also ‘Over 2.5 Goals’. Much like two Scottish teams above, the goals have arrived in no short supply for these two sides. Only one of their combined four matches has ended with less than three goals and even that really ought to have had more goals. Last time out Excelsior defeated Groningen 2-0, but both sides wasted a number of chances and on another the day the scoreline would’ve undoubtedly featured more goals.

Another interesting pointer is the recent head-to-head record between these two. This pair rarely play out a boring game. The last five scorelines read: 2:4, 3:3, 2:3, 2:2 and 2:1. And given the start both have made to the new season this trend looks set to continue.

See more tips here.