02.04// The Scottish Football Weekender

After last weekend's utter and total score prediction disaster, this weekend, our speculative guesswork comes courtesy of my next door neighbour's cat, Tilly.

Motherwell (5th»LWDWW) v Falkirk (12th»LDDLL)
Despite playing pretty much the entire game against 10-men Dundee United, Motherwell where unable to use the extra man to press the advantage. A somewhat unexpected 3-0 pumping followed, an unusually heavy defeat for a team that only conceded three goals in the league since the new year. That's not to take anything away from United who are on fire at the minute. There's little danger of dropping out of the top six however, but if they're going to compete in Europe next season they'll need to overhaul Hibs, just two points ahead of them. Against bottom side Falkirk expect Craig Brown's men to get back to winning ways, After two draws, Falkirk seemed to have stemmed the hemorrhage of points, but a 3-1 defeat at home to Hibs last weekend, together with wins for St Mirren and Hamilton has once again cast the Bairns adrift at the bottom of the table. There's still a lot to fight for especially now that Kilmarnock's form has left them, but time is running out. Home Win.

Rangers (1st»LWWWW) v Hamilton (9th»WWDWD)
A while back we predicted that Rangers would slip up eventually, based on the belief that even a league as predictable as the SPL would throw up the occasional surprise. That the surprise would come at St Johnstone, and by that score line, 4-1, was not something I saw coming. It's been many years since the Old Firm suffered such heavy defeats in the same week - perhaps this is some kind of omen? The defeat came on the back of elimination from the Scottish Cup at the hands of Dundee United, so the expected backlash from that game will have to wait until Saturday, when Accies come to town. Hamilton look safe for another season with the team enjoying a six game unbeaten run that has seen them put 11 points between them and the relegation zone. Home Win.

St Mirren (10th»LWLDL) v Hearts (6th»LWLLW)
St Mirren had a good chance to complete a memorable few days down in Paisley. After routing Celtic, they had a chance to make it two wins out of two against an Aberdeen side on its worst form for many, many years. It was not to be however, McPherson's Buddies going down 2-1 against the Dons. They need to start picking up points to ensure that they're not going to be involved in another relegation scrap like last season. Having a large part of the team struck down with a mystery illness at this crucial stage of the season doesn't help - you've got to wonder how much of an impact it will have come the end of the season.

A win for Hearts tomorrow together with a win against St Johnstone the week after will secure a top-six finish for Hearts, salvaging at least something from a season which will go down in the minds of most Hearts fans as quite forgettable. Hearts need the win and have the stronger of the two squads, so: Away Win.

Hibernian (4th»LWLWD) v Celtic (2nd»WLWWL)
We have to wait until Sunday for the game of the weekend, when Celtic travel to Easter Road, Edinburgh. Neil Lennon got his spell as Celtic manager of to a convincing start with a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock, but this fixture will prove a tougher test. Hibs are safely in the top six, but their hopes of European football next season depend upon them putting some distance between themselves and fifth-placed Motherwell. Rangers' defeat at St Johnstone on Tuesday keeps the gap at 10 points, but with Rangers possibly wobbling perhaps just a little, now is the time to keep the pressure on with a convincing win over Hibs. The last time these two met, Hibs came back from a fifth minute Fortune goal to win 2-1. Hibs where then in third spot and tipped by some to be the team to split the Old Firm, but a sudden drop in form saw them win only three of their next 10 games, ending with the 4-2 defeat at home against Dundee United. John Hughes needs to get his season back on the tracks, but I can't see it happening this Sunday. Away Win.

Kilmarnock (11th»LLLLL) v Aberdeen (8th»WDLDL)
For a short while it seemed to be going so well for Jimmy Calderwood: a couple of wins under his belt (including a win against Celtic) pushed the struggling side above the danger zone and into mid-table safety, but just look at that form guide: without a win in six games, and with results not going their way they're suddenly back in the relegation zone. Calderwood returns to the club that sacked him over the summer, but he's not expecting a welcome return, and especially not if he pulls of an unlikely (given that league form) victory.

Aberdeen's 2-1 win over St Mirren finally ended a poor run of form. Tumbling attendances and disgruntled fans make every game an ordeal for McGhee, so those 3 points will come as some relief and hopefully motivation to push the Dons to another victory. A top six is still possible but it will require a lot of hard work - the sort of thing the side has been incapable of all season. A first win in 11 attempts avoided this season getting even worse, but there's a lot of work to be done over the summer to get the Dons back on track. McGhee was already said in the press that his job is on the line unless the performances improve next season, but without the money to spend you have to feel that McGhee's neck is on the line even before the next season kicks off in August. Jim Paterson's loan spell at Pittodrie is probably over after the midfielder suffered an Achilles injury, the player returning to Plymouth for treatment. That 11-game run included draws against Celtic, Hibs and United, suggesting once again that the Dons only turn it on for the bigger teams. Killie are a small team, so: draw.

Scottish Division One
Elsewhere, Airdrie Utd v Partick Thistle is largely meaningless game, neither side out of the running for survival and promotion respectively. Away win.

» Morton v Queen of the South is interesting only for Morton who need the points to stay clear of the 9th play-off spot; the Doonhamers are too far off the lead to make any real challenge for promotion. Away win.

» Dundee v Ayr should normally be a formality for Dundee, but recent form (they've not won a game since the end of February) shows this might be a little harder than perhaps it might have been before the slump hit. These two played out a 1-1 game only three weeks ago. A similar result in this fixture would further dent Dundee's hopes of promotion. Home Win.

» Dunfermline v Ross County is probably more of a vital game for The Pars than it is for Ross County. That costly 3-0 defeat in Inverness earlier on this week effectively put the Dingwall side out of the running for this season. Dunfermline are still in with a shout, currently trailing the leaders Inverness by six points. Home Win.

» Inverness CT v Raith could be a tricky game, Raith having shown this season that despite their lowly position in the league (seventh) they're a side capable of a performance. Inverness need to keep winning and on current form (they're unbeaten since November) they should have no problems. Then again, we said the same about Dundee, so let's not hang out the bunting just yet. Home Win - but with a possible sting in the tail.

Scottish Division Two
League leaders Alloa are on the road to Methill this week and a game against East Fife. The Wasps are six points clear at the top of the table, but many teams below them (Cowdenbeath, Stirling and Brechin) all have games in hand, so they'll need to keep the momentum going. Both Cowdenbeath, who have to keep their off-field distractions out of their mind this weekend, and Stirling play teams from the nether regions of the division (Stenhousemuir and Dumbarton respectively) so look to them to pick up points to keep the pressure on. Elsewhere Brechin, early leaders in the Division take on Peterhead.

Scottish Division Three
Livingston could be this season's first confirmed champion if they overcome Annan Athletic at the Galabank Stadium on Saturday. It will mark the end of a remarkable period in the clubs history, in which they were on the verge of going out of existence, found new owners and then found themselves demoted to the Third Division. It wasn't all plain sailing, particularly in the run-up to the New Year, but in the end the team cantered to the title. Life in the Second will be a lot tougher than it was in the Third, but clearly Livi are going places.

Of the teams making up the other three play-off spots, East Stirling are at home to Albion Rovers, while Forfar welcome Berwick, a team desperate for a win to put themselves back into the top four - to the north-east. Montrose make the last of this season's journeys to Hampden for their showdown with Queens Park, while bottom Stranraer travel to bottom side Elgin City.

Right, that's it. Enjoy the games if you're going!