We've no time this week for our preview of Scottish Football League fixtures, so today's weekender will be confined purely to the SPL. Beginning, in perfect alphabetical order with ..
Celtic v Falkirk
Celtic are in a bit of a state of flux at the minute. There's been a bit of a revolving door at Parkhead, with most of the players heading to pastures new, and English. Ryan Conroy, Chris Killen, Willo Flood and Cillian Sheridan wont be missed, but Barry Robson will be, as will Gary Caldwell if only for amateur pundits like me who'll now have no one to ridicule for Celtic's defensive gaffs. On the positive side, Celtic have been opening the biscuit tin to welcome Jos Hooiveld and Ki Sung-Yong, a central defender and central midfielder respectively, to Parkhead.Falkirk haven't been shabby either in the transfer window, bringing in a few loan signings from Ipswich and Leeds, but it's not going to help them tomorrow as Celtic will pound them in order to keep up with Rangers at the top of the SPL. A comfortable win for Celtic, 3-0.
Dundee United v Hibernian
Easily the game of the day.
The challengers to the SPL crown meet for the second time this season in the league. United will have been happy with the win against Hamilton in mid-week, a win that put an end to a somewhat miserable league run. Hibs have been a cracking side this season and have done well to last the pace.
Hibs have a tendency to draw on the road, but when they hit their form away from Easter Road, they tend to go to town, scoring 3 goals in the away fixtures against Falkirk, Motherwell, and 2 without answer at Pittodrie. The 1-1 against Hearts in the Edinburgh Derby was tough going, but they have the stronger team and I expect them to win tomorrow. Prediction: a narrow 2-1 win for the Hibees. Which reminds me, must give that Trainspotting DVD back.
Hamilton v Rangers
"Oh God, not again" was my first reaction when I saw this fixture on the list. Aye, so that 3-3 last week was entertaining for most of us but it was just a blip, because there's been some pretty scary scorelines between these two sides in the last few years: 4-1, 5-1, 7-1 and 6-0 victories from Walter and his troops spring to mind. Still, if you're going to beat Rangers, now is the time to do it, as they're without Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller, Lee McCulloch and Madjid Bougherra.
Not that it'll help. It's not going to be a 6-0, it's not going to be a 3-3. It's going to be 2-0 to Rangers. Mark my words.
Hearts v St Mirren
Hearts eh? What's the story there? So good last season, so average this. Their three-game unbeaten run came unstuck at Easter Road and was fully off the rails following the 2-0 defeat at Pittodrie last week, but still, there they are in 5th place. How did that happen?
Another team to be on a winning streak is St Mirren, who recorded two good Cup wins and a league scalp (against Killie, the one that cost Jefferies his job). Gus McPherson manages to squeeze a lot of juice from a small orange - Mehmet and Dargo are class players, and if Andy Dorman can just rekindle the sort of form that bagged him 12 goals last season, St Mirren should survive another term in the SPL.
I actually fancy them against Hearts tomorrow - the sort of inconsistency that has been a hallmark of their season thus far is set to return at some point, and with St Mirren on a winning streak, I reckon that'll continue. It's not going to be a high-scorer, but 2-1 to St Mirren should do the trick.
Kilmarnock v Motherwell
Aha! Old Tango is back. Yes, Jimmy Calderwood has returned to the SPL with troubled Kilmarnock, currently second bottom of the league and with massive debts to boot. As a mark of the sheer balls of the man, he's signed up to the end of the season, in case it all goes wrong, right? After all, it's no fun in the First Division.
He may do well, who knows. There's not much to work with at Killie, in much the same way as there was not much to work with at Aberdeen, but at Pittodrie Calderwood was given money to build a squad, whereas at Rugby Park he probably wont be. He's a battler, and though his tactical tombola frustrated many in the final months of his Pittodrie career, he may well be the man to get Killie out of trouble - in the short term at least anyway.
As for Motherwell, with Craig Brown in charge they're never going to win the league, but then again, who else outside of Glasgow ever will? I think the 'new manager' syndrome will see Killie to a win tomorrow, but after that, we'll have to wait and see. It's going to be 1-0 to Kilmarnock. Oh yes.
St Johnstone v Aberdeen
Amazingly enough, this will be St Johnstone's first game since the 3-1 win over Motherwell on Boxing day. Their early season habit of scoring lots and conceding lots seems to have stopped, but they've only recorded two clean-sheets all season. It says here they're an entertaining side; I'll have to take their word for it, because I was 13 the last time I saw St Johnstone play. And besides, we all know that entertaining sides don't always do well in this league, eh Falkirk?
As for my beloved Aberdeen, I wonder what emotional rollercoaster they'll be putting me through tomorrow. A good win against Hearts was followed by a decent performance against St Mirren in which we where unlucky to not get the goals our possession and chances warranted. It was encouraging to see so many of our players chipping in with shots on goal - Mulgrew, Mackie, Fyvie. Hell, even Richard Foster had a go.
The problem is that Aberdeen just couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo at the minute. As the leagues lowest scorers (just 13 goals scored in the SPL so far) the problem appears to be our lack of striking power and an over-reliance on Mulgrew to get our goals. Lee Miller, top scorer for the past two season is out (suspended) so whatever happens tomorrow, it's not going to be a goal-fest. Sone Aluko remains injured, along with Zander Diamond.
McGhee has been chasing Darren Barr this week, hoping the Scotland defender will sign up with the Dons, but our defence is reasonably sturdy at the minute, so perhaps we should be stepping up the chase for either one of MacLean and Dobbie to get the goals we're so desperately needing. In the meantime, this has 1-1 all over it.
Right, that's it. Agree with us? If you think it's a load of keech, let us know, or check out The Scottish Football Blog, who also have their predictions ready for your critical appraisal.
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