Scottish Football's "Four to Follow" Weekend Preview

Ay ay all, and fit like theday?

It's amazing to think there's only a few more games to go in this season. It seems like only last week when the season kicked off, and we had so much to look forward to.

As an Aberdeen fan, the season started with a great deal of optimism and hope, yet it has turned out to have been mostly awful, so the end of the season is a merciful end to a merciless eight months or so of my life. Figuratively speaking, Inside Left is standing over the injured, bleeding and whimpering turkey that represents "Aberdeen FC Season 2009/10" with a large paving slab, ready to put it out of its misery.

So yes, four more weeks, four more games (roughly), and yet there's still so much to be decided. While the Third and First Divisions are wrapped up - congratulations to Livingston and Inverness Caley - there is still a lot to fight for in the SPL and in particular in Division Two.

Well, we say a lot, perhaps that's true for Division Two, but this weekend may well see the SPL come to it's inevitable conclusion, i.e, one of the Old Firm lifting the vase. As it stands now, a United win tomorrow against Celtic would see Rangers win the league without the need to actually play, while even a 24-1 win for Celtic is meaningless if Rangers beat Hibs at Easter Road on Sunday.

Spare a thought too for Dundee, who gallantly lead the league until it all went a bit awry at the end of March. Their defeat at Raith in midweek promoted Caley Thistle at the first time of asking, and consigned the Dee to another season in Division One. Caley have done well to make their stay in Division One short, especially when you consider that it took St Johnstone the best part of six years to get back to the SPL following their relegation in 2002. And look at them now!

Right, lets get with this weekends action.

Glenn Dowd, a name you'll hopefully be seeing a lot more of on these pages has taken a look through the fixture list to pick out the four games you need to keep your radio on for.

Dundee United v Celtic
Third placed Dundee United welcome second placed Celtic to Tannadice this weekend in a rather intriguing tie that will have  huge impact on proceedings at the top of the SPL table, but can Celtic prevent the inevitable? For now maybe, but the title is well and truly on the way to the blue side of Glasgow.

With four games remaining eleven points separate the Old Firm, with Celtic needing to win all of their remaining games and hoping the Gers slip up badly. Celtic's stuttering season may grind to a halt this Sunday when they face Peter Houston's rejuvenated Dundee United. The cup finalists are seven points behind Celtic and will be aiming to pip them to the final Champions League spot, most seasons you wouldn’t say its possible but with Celtic's current plight anything is possible.

Regardless of what happens at Tannadice, the Terrors have had a tremendous season, picking themselves up in the best way possible after a 7-1 thrashing  at the hands of Rangers. Houston has done a great job in picking up from where Craig Levein left off and Dundee have pushed far ahead of an ailing Hibernian side, that offered so much at the start of the season.

Both teams will be going all out this weekend in order to grab what will be a massive three points. Houston will look to the talented David Goodwillie, this week named young player of the year, to shoot down Neil Lennon`s men. For Celtic, Robbie Keane will once again be called upon to provide the firepower. The Irishman has been named the clubs player of the year for this season, despite only playing 15 games; that says it all about the talent on the books at Parkhead.

Morten Rasmussen is the predator that Celtic could do with, but he has been offered limited chances. After his late winner at home to Hibs last week, surely he will be chosen ahead of the implausible Marc Antoine Fortune. Verdict: Expect a tight match with Dundee United edging it.

St Mirren v Kilmarnock
The Saints host Killie this weekend in a crucial match that will go a long way to determining who will be relegated. Both side are neck and neck, currently tied on 29 points apiece, one point ahead of bottom side Falkirk who entertain Hamilton this weekend.

St Mirren have endured a tough season with some notable memories, thrashing Celtic 4-0, been the highlight of their season. They will be hoping a win this weekend will cement their SPL position for next season, but manager Gus MacPherson  knows that they cant take a win for granted. The Buddies will call upon hitmen Andy Dorman and Michael Higdon to fire them to victory over a Killie side who have struggled on the road. Jimmy Calderwood's side have lost their last five away matches and this form is something that must be addressed otherwise Killie will slip out of the SPL, where they have been mainstays since winning promotion in 1993.

Another stat will set the alarm bells ringing for Calderwood is the fact that his side have only managed to score four away goals this season. However they do possess the ever dangerous Kevin Kyle, who may fire them to victory. With 7 goals this term, the Stranraer born striker will be hoping to add to his tally in the remaining games. Chris Maguire will also pose a threat to St Mirren, who will need to recapture the spirit of that glorious night against Celtic.  Verdict: A dull draw seems on the cards, with both teams likely to cancel each other out.

Peterhead v Alloa Athletic
Scottish Division 2 leaders travel to Peterhead this weekend with one hand firmly on the title. However with only two games remaining. Alloa lie two points above second place Stirling Albion, who will punish any slip up by Allan Maitland's men. Alloa's destiny is firmly in their own hands and they will be expected to overcome the challenge posed by 6th place Peterhead, who could yet crash the playoffs but need a good bit of fortune to do so.

The last time these sides met, Alloa carved out a 2-1 home win over Neale Cooper's Peterhead side. A similar result seems on the cards this time around. Verdict: Alloa to go into the final day, top of the table, after a vital away win.

Stirling Albion v Clyde
Second placed Stirling Albion host an already relegated Clyde side at Forthbank Stadium, having beaten them 2-1 earlier in the week to condemn them to the drop. A similar result seems like the order of the day but Clyde will be aiming to prove their critics wrong. Stirling will be hoping to win promotion at the first attempt next season, but current financial worries strangling the club may prevent them from doing so.

Beano's manager Allan Moore will be hoping his side can take six points from their final two fixtures to keep the pressure on Alloa. However Moore will also be relying on a favour from Peterhead and should the opportunity arise he is confident his side can pounce on any slip up by the league leaders:  "I believe we can win our final two games but the title is out of our hands. Should Alloa slip up, we will prove our worth by overtaking them". Verdict: Stirling Win.

The other fixtures this weekend:

SPL
Hibernian - Rangers (Sunday)
Falkirk - Hamilton
Hearts - Motherwell
St Johnstone - Aberdeen

Division One
Ayr - Inverness Caley
Dundee - Raith Rovers
Dunfermline - Morton
Queen Of The South - Airdrie United
Ross County - Partick Thistle

Division Two
Cowdenbeath - Brechin City
Dumbarton - Arbroath
East Fife - Stenhousemuir
Peterhead - Alloa
Stirling - Clyde

Division Three
Berwick - Albion
East Stirling - Annan Athletic
Montrose - Livingston
Queens Park - Elgin
Stranraer - Forfar