Hearts v St Johnstone Betting Tip St Johnstone ‘double chance’ – 26 January 2019

Saints can continue excellent away form

Scottish Premiership Betting Tips

ScotlandHearts v St JohnstoneScotland
Saturday 26th January 1500hrs 
Football – Scotland – Premiership
Pick: St Johnstone double chance
Bookmaker: Boylesports
Odds: 20/23 (odds taken 21.20 GMT, Thursday 24th January)

There were contrasting fortunes for these two clubs in midweek but there’s another three Premiership points on offer on Saturday at Tynecastle. Continue reading for a match preview of Hearts v St Johnstone with a selected best betting tip.

Scottish Premiership Betting at Marathon Bet

Hearts Preview

Having returned to action following the winter break with a win in the Scottish Cup last weekend, optimism was building around Tynecastle around a really strong second half of the season – particularly with the squad appearing to be much stronger than it was for the middle part of the first half. That optimism was quickly dispelled on Wednesday as Hearts suffered an extremely disappointing loss at home to Dundee, who had come into that match bottom of the table. The defeat has left Hearts in sixth spot and nine points off the top of the table. Whilst a title challenge may have been overly ambitious, Craig Levein would have been hoping to keep pace with Celtic and the other teams challenging for a while yet. As it is, they now look to be in a battle with their opponents on Saturday for fifth spot which is no real improvement on last season which was seen as a failure. There was further fallout from the defeat as well with Levein publicly criticising new signing David Vanecek for his performance. The striker was subbed off just after half an hour and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to his manager’s comments.

 

Key-Facts – Hearts v St Johnstone

  • St Johnstone have the best away record in the Scottish Premiership this season
  • Hearts have dropped below Saints in the table following home defeat to Dundee in midweek
  • The visitors have not conceded a goal away from home in their last six matches

 

St Johnstone Preview

St Johnstone are not in the conversation of potential title winners like a couple of other clubs who have made giant strides under their managers, and Rangers, but the job that Tommy Wright continues to do in Perth is nothing short of incredible. Last season was underwhelming but the Saints have bounced back and are now well placed for another top six finish and have made it into the last 16 of the Scottish Cup. Granted, they face Celtic in the next round but they are certainly going along nicely at the moment. A 1-0 win at home to Livingston on Wednesday was St Johnstone’s third straight league victory and their fourth in all competitions. In typical Tommy Wright fashion, those wins have been achieved without conceding a goal as the former goalkeeper prides himself on building his teams on defence. With a visit to Hearts and then facing Celtic three times in the next fortnight, that defence is surely going to come under pressure but they could barely be in better form ahead of those fixtures.

Hearts v St Johnstone Betting Advice

Following the results in midweek, St Johnstone have now leapt above Hearts in the table and travel to the capital city with a one-point cushion over their opponents. That in itself is further indication of how well Wright has done and is doing considering their respective budgets. Hearts are typically very strong at home which makes the defeat to Dundee all that more harder to take but they have an immediate opportunity to put that right with another match at Tynecastle where a win would see them reclaim fifth and looking up once again. It will not be easy, though, as they face a St Johnstone team who have the best away record in the league. The Saints have won seven of their 10 games on the road and incredibly are yet to draw an away game this season. So there will be no questioning the belief of the visitors that they can get a result.

Hearts have had the upper hand over St Johnstone in recent meetings, winning for of their last five games against them, which is in stark contrast to what went before where the Saints went eight unbeaten in this fixture. The visitors are on an excellent run at the moment and whilst Levein will hope for a reaction from his players on the back of that defeat to Dundee, there could barely be a worst club to face than St Johnstone under Tommy Wright, who will make it incredibly hard once again. Take the visitors to avoid defeat once again on the road.