Hearts
V
Tynecastle Stadium
17/03/2018 | 3:00 pm
Partick Thistle
V
Tynecastle Stadium
17/03/2018 | 3:00 pm
Heart of Midlothian vs Partick Thistle Betting Tips, Preview & Predictions
In a sentence: Hearts welcome Partick Thistle to Tynecastle on Saturday, with both teams having a lot to play for before the Scottish Premiership’s imminent split.
Last time: Kris Doolan scored a late equaliser for Thistle following Esmael Goncalves’ opener when the teams met at Tynecastle in November, after they also played out a 1-1 draw at Firhill earlier in the campaign.
This time: Hearts are evens for the win, while Partick Thistle are 18/5 and the draw is 12/5.
You might remember: The last time Thistle won at Tynecastle. It was in May 2014, when the Jags recorded an eventful 4-2 victory over Hearts, despite twice going behind in the first half.
Team News
Hearts' Last Six:
Won: 1 Drawn: 2 Lost: 3
Talented youngster Harry Cochrane misses this game for Hearts, after the 16-year-old limped off with a hamstring injury against Hibernian at the weekend. He’s expected to be out for between four and six weeks, while on-loan Manchester United left-back Demetri Mitchell is set to miss most of the season after a knee injury.
Partick Thistle's Last Six:
Won: 1 Drawn: 2 Lost: 3
Visiting boss Alan Archibald has no new injury worries coming into this fixture. Stuart Bannigan remains sidelined with a knee problem, while Adam Barton and Ryan Edwards are a booking away from suspension. The outsiders will take heart from this as we look at the football betting tips for the weekend.
Betting Tips & Predictions
Sixth-placed Hearts have just three games to play before the split, and go into this fixture with a four-point lead over Motherwell in seventh, who have a game in hand. Thistle meanwhile are four points from bottom, but have three points to make up on Dundee if they want to avoid a relegation play-off. This Scottish Premiership preview promises an intriguing encounter.
Hearts are evens to take all three points from the game, and record their first league victory since the start of February. They need to get back to winning ways to stay in the top six, and they look to be a good bet as part of your weekly football predictions against their lowly visitors. The Jambos have recorded some decent results at Tynecastle this season, not least in beating Celtic 4-0, and they’re desperate for another strong performance here to get back on track.
Partick Thistle are 18/5 for the win, which would be a huge result as they look to beat the drop. A point at home to Aberdeen on Saturday was encouraging enough, and wouldn’t have featured in too many Scottish Premiership predictions before the game. Archibald will look to experienced top scorer Conor Sammon to get on the scoresheet for his team.
The draw is 12/5, and could turn out to be a decent football prediction at that price. After their point against the third-placed Dons at the weekend, another point wouldn’t be a bad result for Thistle with a trip to Hibs up next before a crunch game at Ross County.
Kyle Lafferty is the 4/1 favourite to open the scoring on Saturday, and reach double figures for the season in what might prove to be one of the best football betting tips in this fixture. For the visitors, Sammon is 17/2 for the same bet, while he’s the same price to net the last goal of the game too.
Predicted Score: Hearts 2 - 1 Partick Thistle
Match Summary
1
Look out for:
Lightning to strike for a third time. After playing out two 1-1 draws already this season, it’s 6/1 for the same scoreline if you like to go on past performances for your football score predictions.
2
We fancy:
Both teams to score at 9/8. The only time Thistle failed to score in their pervious nine games before holding Aberdeen to a goalless draw last time out was against Rangers, while Hearts will fancy their chances.
3
It’s a long shot, but:
Lafferty to score first and Hearts to win 2-1 is 25/1. This scoreline looks like a good value bet for this week’s football predictions, and Lafferty is a likely candidate to break the deadlock.
Written by
Oli Coates is a huge sports fan, particularly football and especially Manchester United, who follows sports betting closely and has written extensively on the market. An experienced writer, Oli has covered everything from travel to how to care for your pets!