Dundee were promoted to the Scottish Premiership as Champions following their successful campaign in the Championship last season. Their return to the top flight has been impressive enough, currently sitting in seventh. They have yet to win at home in the league, though, drawing three and losing two. Although it’s a disappointing statistic, they have done very well on their travels and last weekend’s 3-1 win at Motherwell as their third of the season. It’s very early in the season to determine where they will finish but manager Paul Hartley will be looking to get their first home win and increase their chances of having a comfortable season, avoiding the dreaded relegation battle.
Hamilton were the other side who earned promotion from the Championship last season but their route was much more dramatic. After being denied automatic promotion on the final day of the season they saw off Falkirk in the semi-final of the play-off before facing Hibernian. Despite going down 2-0 in the first leg they recovered and were eventually victorious on penalties. They have started this season incredibly well – taking 23 points from a possible 30 which has them on top of the table. Without doubt, their biggest highlight thus far was the 1-0 win at Celtic Park at the beginning of this month – and it was a win they thoroughly deserved.
These were the two best sides in the Championship last season but it’s been surprising how well both have adapted to life in the Premiership. Hamilton have obviously been the most impressive and come into this match in splendid form having already seen off Aberdeen, Motherwell, and the aforementioned win again Celtic, without conceding a goal. But Dundee can be very pleased, especially as they have brought in a lot of new players over the close season. It was Dundee who had the upperhand in the fixture last season as the Dens Park club won two with the other two ending in draws.
It’s an intriguing game as Dundee were expected to be better equipped to cope with life in this league. That may still prove to be the case, of course, with plenty of football still to play, but you can’t ignore how confident and dominant Hamilton have been. Only Celtic have scored more than them and they have the best defensive record in the league. Their away form has been outstanding winning four and drawing one. It would be foolish to back against them such has been their form recently and they can extend it with another away success against Dundee.
Hamilton 8/5 @ Coral
