We’re coming off the back a League Cup midweek that saw the *start quote* Big Teams *end quote* all get through with relatively little stress to set up a mouth-watering semi-final line-up of Rangers v Hibs and Celtic v holders St. Johnstone. Hold up though, there’s plenty of league action to get stuck right into before then and with a full card across the SPFL this weekend I’ve gone for my favourite four selections across the four divisions in this weekend’s accumulator, starting with the Premiership’s surprise package over the opening half dozen fixtures, Motherwell.

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Motherwell v Ross County

Graham Alexander’s men became the first side to stop Rangers picking up all three points at Ibrox in the Premiership since March 2020 and though they maybe were a tad lucky to hang onto a point in the 1-1 draw it does mean the Steelmen are flying high in 4^th.

The same can’t be said of County, who, admittedly, have seemingly angered the fixtures computer in a past life. Their opening six games read as St. Johnstone, Hibs, Rangers, Aberdeen, Celtic and Hearts. That’s five of last season’s top six and a trip to Tynecastle to welcome Malky Mackay back to Scotland. A trip to Fir Park isn’t going to be much easier than any of those and their winless start to the season should continue.

County have picked up just three points over their opening six games, aren’t creating many chances and are conceding a lot of decent opportunities. Motherwell do appear to be outperforming their numbers a wee bit but they should have more than enough quality across their talented front line to get all three points against a shoddy County side who look set to have a tough season at the foot of the Premiership standings.

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Inverness v Queen of the South

From one surprise package to another, with Inverness starting the season off very well and leading the Championship going into the seventh round of matches. That will have changed by full-time in the Friday night game between Arbroath and Killie, though welcoming Queens is the perfect opportunity to reclaim their top spot.

Caley were dreadful in the League Cup group games to kick-off the campaign, leading me to bit a little cold on them going into the season, but Billy Dodds has certainly proven me wrong. Four 1-0 wins to start the campaign followed up by an impressive win over Partick and a draw at Dunfermline mean they’ve conceded just once in their opening 540 minutes of Championship football. Not bad for a manager who confessed to having not worked on his defence just 10 days before their league season kicked off.

As for their opponents, I’ve not been shy in showing my excitement towards Queen of the South this season. They have one of the youngest starting XIs across the entire pyramid and they are set up to have a go regardless of who they’re playing but their gung-ho approach and naivety has cost them already this season and it should play right into the streetwise Inverness’ hands this weekend. It will be an interesting clash of styles but it’s a battle that should be won by the in-form men from Inverness.

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Queen’s Park v Peterhead

To round up the acca, it’s off to two sides who I’ve frequented a few times already this season (no prizes for guessing who my final selection is if you’ve been an avid reader this year), with the first being the formidable Queen’s Park.

They welcome an out of sorts Peterhead to their temporary Firhill home. Peterhead have won just three times against senior opposition across their 12 games (discounting the win against Dundee’s Colt side in the Challenge Cup), losing each of the other nine. They should be without their main man in the engine room, with Si Ferry sustaining a hamstring injury late into the loss at home to Cove last weekend. He’d be a big loss but even if he can play through the injury, The Spiders should be able to grab all three points anyway.

Only one side have beaten Laurie Ellis’ men in 90 minutes this season, and that was Premiership Motherwell. They’re unbeaten over their seven League One games having cruised to promotion and the title in League Two last season, it’s a competitive division but Queen’s Park are one of the sides I expect to pull away from the chasing pack, something they very well could do come 5pm on Saturday evening.

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Kelty Hearts v Stranraer

We’re headed into the eighth round of games in League Two and I’m starting to run out of nice things to say about Kelty Hearts. Last week, I mentioned how they hadn’t had a single player really plunder the goals in the SPFL yet, well that comment must’ve been pinned in the Kelty dressing room.

Nathan Austin banged in a hattrick in the three nil win over Albion Rovers inside 65 minutes to get his side back to winning ways in routine fashion. They’ve dropped points just twice this season, at Forfar and against Elgin, both games that could’ve been won. Kevin Thomson shouldn’t be losing too much sleep over either result and the return to goal scoring form after a bout of Covid for Austin will be very welcome.

They’re a side filled with options to hurt any side in League Two but none are more capable than Austin, especially when he’s getting service from Jamie Barjonas and Kallum Higginbotham, to name but two of Kelty’s talented operators. As for Stranraer, they’ve made a steady start and do look better on their travels than at Stair Park this season but as with all of the sides outwith the current top four, could easily be blown away by Kelty. That should ring true this weekend and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Austin take his tally for the season into double figures.

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I’m unsure how many of you check my blog, but my Scottish accumulator landed today.

🔗 https://t.co/RKUerg962x

I share plenty on there, including my weekly Scottish acca. If you’re ever looking for more content, just hit that link. Cheers 🤝

18+, gamble responsibly pic.twitter.com/VcMZdtafWQ

— Andy’s Football Tips (@AndyRobsonTips) September 25, 2021

18+ please gamble responsibly. All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.

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