Boothy’s predictions

Our resident expert Scott Booth will run his eye over the weekend's Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixtures each week and give his big match predictions.

As a former Scottish international striker and current Setanta Sports Scottish football analyst we feel he's pretty qualified to give a weekly run down of who's doing what in the SPL, check out his latest predictions here.

Aberdeen 1 - 1 Hibernian

Aberdeen have failed to win any of their home matches so far and pressure is mounting on both the players and the management at a club where huge expectation levels prevail.  Although they currently sit second bottom of the SPL the overall situation is not quite as bad as it may look.  It is still very early in the campaign and their points total is much the same as this time last season when the club eventually went on to record a respectable fourth place finish.  But Saturday's Pittodrie clash against Hibs still represents a massive match for those in the Granite City just two months into the new season.  Mixu Paatelainen has his own problems.  Inconsistency has affected their start and having won the previous two league matches they were made to look very ordinary in a three nil defeat to Rangers at Easter Road last week.  Things don't get any easier for the Edinburgh side, after this weekend's fixture they face Hearts and then Celtic.  A share of the spoils may suit both.

Celtic 4 - 0 Hamilton Accies

Celtic's form in the SPL has been pretty convincing since their Old Firm defeat, even if it did take a very late Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink strike to win at home to Aberdeen last week.  At 2-1 down it looked like the Dons would claim all three points but once Scott McDonald equalised a familiar scenario played out and Gordon Strachan's side once again proved just how resilient they can be.  Scoring hasn't been a problem with ten goals in the last three league matches.  Saturday should see them add to that tally against a Hamilton outfit that have yet to draw a match this season.  A hat-trick of wins means a mid table placing for the time being, but two straight SPL defeats puts a little more pressure on an inexperienced team.  Points against the Old Firm on their travels will not be part of Billy Reid's season plan so the newly promoted side have nothing to lose.  Next week's home fixture against St Mirren will be a different story though.

Dundee Utd 2 - 0 Inverness CT

Dundee Utd are on a roll.  They took their time about it but since recording their first win of the season at Pittodrie a couple of weeks back they can do no wrong.  A two nil Cup win against Airdrie was followed up with an utterly convincing three nil demolition of Hearts.  Three games and six goals without reply represents the turning of a corner for Craig Levein's men and that momentum has carried them very quickly from bottom of the table to eighth.  A win against Inverness CT could see them jump as high as fourth and challenge again for the UEFA spot many have tipped them to land this season.  Inverness CT have surprised many with their start and having already won two on their travels will feel confident of taking something at Tannadice.  The thing is, on their day the home side have the best midfield in Scotland outside the Old Firm and if recent form is anything to go by they should dictate the match in this area.  If Craig Brewster's men can give as good as they get in the engine room, it's the one thing that may stop them leaving empty handed.


Hearts 1 - 1 Kilmarnock

Hearts have started the campaign pretty well but last weekend they failed to build further momentum as Scotland's number three club, with a defeat at Tannadice.  What that result underlined yet again was that outside the Old Firm any team in form can beat the other.  So far this season Csaba Laszlo's side have managed to score their fair share of goals but they have mostly come from midfielders and defenders.  It's great when these players are chipping in but it shouldn't conceal their need for a striker to shoulder most of the burden.  Kilmarnock are only two points behind the Jambos in the table and will feel confident that they can get a result in Edinburgh, although like Hearts, they suffered defeat on their travels last week.  Jim Jefferies was scathing of his players' second half performance in the Highlands in which not one of his team were given pass marks by the coaching staff.  The question is which team can bounce back quickest?


Motherwell 1 - 1   Falkirk

Falkirk travel to Fir Park on Sunday buoyed by a sensational September which saw them undefeated in the SPL, and make good progress in the Cup.  The Bairns have a reputation for playing attractive stuff but very often results don't mirror the type of football on display.  In recent weeks John Hughes' side have combined both brilliantly and last week's 4-1 hammering of Hamilton will have seemed long overdue to the management team.  Steve Lovell has added some much needed zip up front and Scott Arfield continues his rise as one of Scottish football's brightest young midfielders.  Last weekend Motherwell won only their second league match beating St Mirren 2-1 at home.  Defensively, and at set pieces, they have some problems, and I'm sure Mark McGhee will be working on that ahead of this weekend.  The team will be a bit flat after losing out to Nancy in the UEFA Cup, and with Falkirk on a high, Motherwell will be happy to take a point from the game.

St Mirren 1 - 3 Rangers

Rangers travel to Love Street on Sunday full of confidence after a superb display at Easter Road last week in which they outclassed the home side in every department.  With four SPL wins in succession and eleven goals scored in the process, Walter Smith's men are looking pretty awesome.  The management team have made some classy signings and they have more options now in just about every department.  The ability to alternate their selections make them far more unpredictable to read for an opposition manager because they can rotate their playing staff and tweak the approach with more confidence in the end result.  So far no matter who has come in or what tactics are employed the end result has been same.  Gus MacPherson can only dream of such a thing.  Although the football St Mirren have been playing is of a higher standard than in previous seasons, in the SPL the results have let them down.  Sitting bottom of the table is never a very comfortable place to be, and it's even worse when your next match is against one of the Old Firm.  Add to that two or three injuries and a suspension and they look certain to be looking up at the rest for at least another wee

Scott Booth was talking to Robbie Balfour