A look ahead to this weekend’s action as Scottish Premiership football returns following the extended international break.
Dundee United host Hibs in one of the four 3:00 PM games. United come will come into this game with confidence after comfortably despatching St Mirren 3-0 in Paisley, while Hibernian come into this fixture off the back of underwhelming results back-to-back at Easter Road: losing 1-0 at home to Kilmarnock before drawing 1-1 against Aberdeen. However, during the extended International break, the Edinburgh side announced the appointment of Dutch manager Marink Reedijk, who coached Belgian side SK Beveren to second tier glory, picking up 88 points from a possible 96, finishing 21 points clear of second-place. In continuation, United have failed to beat Hibernian in their last six attempts, with their last win over them coming back in October 2024 when a 93rd minute equaliser and 99th minute winner saw Jim Goodwin’s side pick up the points in dramatic fashion.
Falkirk host Dundee in another of the 3:00 PM games. The Bairns, overall, have had a poor start to the campaign and sit second bottom, only ahead of Kilmarnock by a single point; however, John McGlynn’s side are unbeaten in their last three matches, drawing 1-1 against Dundee United and beating Hearts 2-1 at home, before drawing 1-1 against ten-man St Johnstone. On the other hand, Steven Pressley’s side have enjoyed a solid start to the campaign. The Dark Blues sit in fourth position and come into this fixture off the back of a 2-1 home win against Motherwell.
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Hearts host St Mirren in what is an intriguing game at Tynecastle. Both sides come into this one in poor form. Hearts come into this fixture off the back of a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park, which came after a 2-1 defeat against Falkirk – both sides make up the bottom two. St Mirren come into fixture off the back of three consecutive defeats. The Saints were narrowly defeated by both Old Firm sides in consecutive matches before losing convincingly against Dundee United at home. In addition, St Mirren were victorious in their previous meeting against the Edinburgh outfit, courtesy of a late winner from Freckleton. However, the last meeting between the sides at Tynecastle was won by Hearts. Goals from Shankland and Magnusson saw Hearts win 2-0.
The last of the four Saturday matches takes place at Ibrox, where Rangers host Kilmarnock. Rangers come into this fixture in impressive form. Derek McInnes’ side are unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions and recently did the double over their fiercest rivals, Celtic, winning 3-0 at home to progress in the cup, before winning 1-0 at Celtic Park to close the gap to two points. In those six matches, after a torrid start to the campaign, the Glasgow outfit have kept an impressive five clean sheets and have netted nine times. Kilmarnock on the other hand have had an underwhelming start to the campaign to say the least. Neil McCann’s side sit bottom but beat Hibernian at Easter Road before picking up a point against Hearts in their last two games before the break, so they will be looking to build on those improved performances and results.
The first match on Sunday takes place at Fir Park, between Motherwell and Celtic, who will both be looking to bounce back after poor recent form. The hosts have lost each of their last three matches, conceding seven and only scoring one in those games. Celtic have also lost their last three matches, losing in the Europa League at Celtic Park against Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros and losing back-to-back Old Firm matches. Like Motherwell, last season’s champions conceded seven and only found the net once. In continuation, Celtic remain on top, two points ahead of Rangers, while Motherwell sit in eighth, level on points with Dundee United, who sit ninth, and Aberdeen and St Johnstone, who sit just above.
The final game of the weekend sees Aberdeen take on St Johnstone. After a difficult start to the season, the Dons have picked up form in recent weeks, making the last four of the Scottish League Cup before beating Motherwell 4-0 at Fir Park and picking up a point at Easter Road. The Saints come into this fixture off the back of a 1-1 draw against Falkirk in a game which Simo Valakari’s side showed immense character in, picking up a last-minute point after being reduced to ten men early in the second period. If Aberdeen are to build on their recent form, they will have to beat a St Johnstone side who have not been beaten by more than one goal yet this season. Every game that St Johnstone have been involved in thus far has been decided by a singular goal or ended in a draw. Another close encounter is expected on Sunday.
