Buckie Thistle may be the home side for their Scottish League Cup game against Dundee United, but that hasn’t stopped most experts giving them little or no chance of the win. Their opposition, Dundee United, only just missed out on reaching the Scottish Premier League last season. A play-off defeat to Hamilton saw United have to remain in the Championship for another season at minimum.
Nonetheless, the level of football they are playing is still several steps above Thistle, who compete in the fourth tier of Scottish football.
They did manage to win their league last year, but just like their opponents, they missed out on promotion due to a loss in a promotion playoff. Albeit, instead of facing Hamilton, their victors were East Kilbride FC.
This vast difference in standard is also reflected in the odds for the game, with Buckie Thistle priced at 9/1 to get the win, while Dundee United look a certain win at a price of 1/4. If you are feeling lucky, the draw is available at 5/1.
The fact that Dundee United come into this game on the back of a strong win against Raith Rovers in their opening game of the tournament isn’t a good sign for Buckie. James Keatings and Paul McMullan were both on target for United during that win and will be keen to add to that strong start with a statement here.
Missing out on promotion really hurt United, as their city rivals – Dundee – continue to play at top-level of Scottish football.
We certainly wouldn’t bet against a goal-fest against the minnows here and we wouldn’t be surprised if this is a very one-sided affair. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 11/2 and it looks to be a very good bet and one we wouldn’t mind sticking a bit of cash behind.
Another bet which caught our eye is the -4 handicap for Dundee United. This is priced at 11/1 and could be a wise move considering United have won their first two games with ease and they are playing against part-timers in this game.
Buckie’s opening game in this season’s League Cup ended in predictable fashion; they went down as 4-2 losers against Cowdenbeath. It wasn’t all grim for their supporters though, as two excellent attacking moves ended in goals for Craig Dorrat and Drew Copeland.
If they can replicate that attacking performance, they may even get on the scoresheet against Dundee United. We don’t envisage them winning this encounter, but we certainly wouldn’t rule out them scoring.
If you want to back Dundee United to win and both teams to score you can get a price around 9/1 with Ladbrokes. There are plenty of good bets available in this one, but they all have one thing in common – a Dundee United win.