Hamilton Academical vs Kilmarnock Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Hamilton Academical sailed a bit too close to the wind last season as they finished in 10th position, just one position above the relegation playoff spot of 11th. They eventually finished seven points clear of danger, but it was a big drop in standards from the team that finished in 7th the season before. They ended up with ten fewer points than they managed in the 2014/15 season.

The new season started fairly successfully as they won three of their four Scottish League Cup group matches to finish top of the group and progress to the knockout stages. The success continued into the first match of the Scottish Premiership season, where they managed to hold off the newly promoted Rangers and claim a 1-1 draw at the Ibrox.

However, it took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as Greenock Morton knocked them out of the Scottish League Cup, and now they must rally around and start picking up wins as they look to distance themselves from the drop zone. They are certainly a team that many predict will end up around the relegation zone come the end of the season and the loss of the likes of Michael McGovern and Ziggy Gordon will have done nothing to allay their fans’ fears.

Another team expected to struggle are Kilmarnock, simply because they always do. They finished in 10th position in the 2014/15 season, and they went one worse than that last term as they finished in the relegation playoff spot of 11th. Fortunately for them they managed to triumph over Falkirk in the playoff, but they could face the same sort of struggle this season.

Kilmarnock’s lack of quality showed as they failed to qualify from their Scottish League Cup group in July, with Greenock Morton and Albion Rovers beating them to the top two spots and leaving them with just six points from four matches against lower division teams.

The start of the Scottish Premiership didn’t go much better as Motherwell beat them 2-1 at Kilmarnock, and they will be desperate to get some early points on the board to avoid playing catch up for the rest of the season.

Hamilton Academical were awful on home turf last season. They won just one of their last 15 home games in the Scottish Premiership and lost nine of them, whereas Kilmarnock did manage to avoid defeat in four of their last seven away days.

With Hamilton Academical’s squad significantly worse off when compared to last season and their terrible home record still lingering in their mind I’m predicting the visitors to have a good chance on Saturday. Odds of 3/4 for a Kilmarnock Win or Draw Double Chance look excellent value for money, so I’m going for that along with a 2-1 win for the visitors at 10/1 for my correct score prediction.