Scottish Cup
2025-07-15 - Hamilton Academical vs Hearts
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: Scottish League Cup Group Stage
Tuesday 15th July 2025 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Preview
It is the first time in three seasons that Hearts have failed to Qualify for any of the UEFA competitions and that has meant a return to the League Cup Group Stage. They made a strong start to the section with a solid 4-1 win over Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday and another victory in the second round of Group fixtures would see Hearts take a giant step towards the next stage of the League Cup.
Last season Hearts finished as Semi Finalists in both domestic Cup competitions and they have not been beaten in the League Cup Group Stage since July 2017.
All of that will offer the team plenty of encouragement, as will the fact that Hearts finished last season in such good form. They were unbeaten in 3 away Scottish Premiership games following a defeat at the home of Champions Celtic and Hearts had won back to back away games to conclude the campaign.
Next up for Hearts is a game at the home of Hamilton Academical, a team who opened their own Group bid with a 0-2 away win at Stirling Albion. A seven year stay in the Scottish Premiership ended at the conclusion of the 2021 season and the four years since have featured two relegations from the Scottish Championship and one promotion from League One.
The last campaign ended in relegation after Hamilton Academical were handed a fifteen Point Penalty, but they played well for the most part and would likely have cemented their place back in the second tier. One of the issues down the stretch was the lack of home wins and Hamilton Academical concluded their home fixture list with 3 losses in 4 games.
These teams last met at the ZLX Stadium in February 2023 and that ended in a Hearts victory in the Scottish Cup.
Prior to that, Hamilton Academical had won 2 in a row at home against this opponent.
Prediction
This is going to be a tough test for Hearts, despite the two Divisions between the clubs, and they will know that Hamilton Academical are probably the strongest team in League One this season.
Both started with solid wins in the League Cup this past weekend, but the slight edge has to still be with the Scottish Premiership team.
Hamilton Academical may have still been a Championship club without the Points Penalty handed out to them last season, but they did end the season with 3 home losses in 4 games played. They failed to score in any of the 4 matches, while each defeat was by at least two goals and Hearts may be able to secure something similar on Tuesday.
The Pick :
Hamilton Academical 0-2 Hearts
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Hearts - 1.5 Asian Handicap at 1.97 with Bet365
