The Scottish League Cup moves into matchday two this week following on from the first round of group games over the weekend to kickstart the domestic season.
Linlithgow Rose head into Tuesday’s game on a huge high after causing the shock of the competition so far with a 1-0 win over Championship side Greenock Morton on Saturday.
The Rose play in the Lowland League and were denied their chance at league football last season when the Scottish Football Association did not allow them to enter the promotion play-offs to League Two as they did not have the required stadium infrastructure for league football.
However, Linlithgow showed they are more than a match for teams in higher divisions by coming out on top against Morton thanks to Calum Rae’s second-half strike in a tie the away team dominated and thoroughly deserved their win.
The visit of St Johnstone is a step up in quality for the Rose and despite their fine win over Morton, the Premiership outfit are likely to be too strong for their hosts.
Linlithgow Rose v St Johnstone Tips Summary
Best Bet - St Johnstone to win to nil @ 1/1
Alternative Bet - St Johnstone -2 on the handicap @ 20/21
Bet Builder - Over 3 goals, Both teams to score - no & most goals in second half @ 15/2
Linlithgow Rose v St Johnstone Prediction
Best Bet: St Johnstone to win to nil @ 1/1
Linlithgow put in an excellent performance when they dominated the statistics as well as the scoreline against Greenock Morton but the visit from Premiership outfit St Johnstone is a step up in class.
This will be the Saints' opening match of the season, having not been in action during the first matchday of the competition. They have had an impressive pre-season, winning all three of their fixtures, scoring 11 goals, keeping two clean sheets and conceding just two goals.
This is off the back of a superb campaign last time out where they secured promotion to the top tier after running away with last season’s Championship title by 11 points.
Despite Linlithgow’s impressive win on the weekend, the Saints should have too much for their hosts and can run out winners without conceding a goal in this clash.
Alternative Bet: St Johnstone -2 on the handicap @ 20/21
The Saints ended last season on a 15-match unbeaten run across all competitions and their pre-season form appears to show they are ready up pick up where they left off.
Given the gap in quality between the Premiership and the Lowland League, St Johnstone are likely to be too strong for The Rose and can win this clash by more than two goals.
The Saints have not conceded a goal in competitive football for just under 400 minutes of action, scoring 13 in this time. The attacking threat the visitors hold should be too strong for their lower league hosts.
Linlithgow Rose v St Johnstone Bet Builder Tip
Over 3 goals
Both teams to score - no
Most goals in second half
Pays 15/2
During pre-season, St Johnstone have scored four in two of their three matches and 11 in total. Last season’s top-scorer Joshua McPake has moved to Hearts over the summer, but the Saints have turned Ruari Paton’s loan into a permanent move and signed Unax Alvarez to replace his goals. Paton has shone in pre-season with two goals last time out and three in two appearances.
His goals will be key to the Saints starting their League Cup campaign well and can help his side to a convincing win in this clash.
The Saints romped to the Championship title last season and their defence was key to this. They ended the season with four consecutive clean sheets and are more than capable of keeping Linlithgow out in this fixture.
The Premiership side’s superior fitness and skill will enable them to push for goals after the break and the second half is likely to see more goals than the first 45 minutes.
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Key Match Stats
St Johnstone have not conceded a competitive goal in 392 minutes of play
The Saints scored 11 goals across three pre-season matches
Linlithgow Rose sit top of Group F after their opening day 1-0 win over Greenock Morton
The Rose have kept two clean sheets in their last six competitive matches
St Johnstone won the Championship last season with 77 points from 6 matches
Linlithgow Rose won the fifth-tier Lowland League last season with 75 points from 34 matches
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
