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.
Last week's results
| Match |
Result |
Prediction |
Points |
| Motherwell -v- St. Mirren |
0-2 |
2-0 |
0 |
| Celtic -v- Aberdeen |
2-0 |
3-1 |
1 |
| Dundee United -v- Kilmarnock |
0-0 |
2-1 |
0 |
| Falkirk -v- Hearts |
0-0 |
1-1 |
1 |
| Inverness CT -v- Hamilton Accies |
1-1 |
2-0 |
0 |
| Hibernian -v- Rangers |
2-3 |
1-2 |
1 |
| Falkirk -v- St. Mirren |
2-1 |
-1--1 |
0 |
| Hamilton Accies -v- Hibernian |
4-1 |
-1--1 |
0 |
| Hearts -v- Kilmarnock |
1-0 |
-1--1 |
0 |
| Aberdeen -v- St. Johnstone |
1-3 |
-1--1 |
0 |
| Celtic -v- Motherwell |
2-1 |
-1--1 |
0 |
| Dundee United -v- Rangers |
0-0 |
-1--1 |
0 |
Aberdeen 1 - 3 Celtic
The Dons have already proved they can raise their game against Celtic this season with a deserved win back in December at Pittodrie. It was their first league victory over the Hoops on home soil in seven years but will lightning strike in the same place twice? Well... they haven't lost at home in the league for nearly seven months but I don't think they're playing the same football as they were before that 4-2 victory. Jimmy Calderwood also has a couple of key players out for this one as his side try to keep the pressure on Dundee United in the hunt for fourth spot. Meanwhile Celtic have managed to get Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink back scoring again so don't be surprised if it ends up a happy away day for Gordon Strachan's men. History proves that there is normally no lack of goals when these two meet, hopefully that will mean plenty of entertainment for the neutral.
Rangers 1 - 1 Heart of Midlothian
Hearts have made it extremely difficult for Rangers this season. The last time they clashed the Jambos came back from two goals down to record a memorable draw at Ibrox. They return to Glasgow on Sunday in a strong league position with a five point lead over United in third spot. Calum Elliot has added a new dimension to their attack and has been rewarded with the Clydesdale Bank Premier League Young Player of the Month award for April. Rangers will find it hard to break Csaba Lazslo's side down because they're well organised and extremely competitive all over the park. It all adds up to a very tight match for me and a draw seems most likely.
Falkirk 2 - 1 Motherwell
Motherwell will still be kicking themselves for not grasping the opportunity to finish in the top six this season. They say the table never lies, and if you look back over the course of the season they just haven't shown the consistency of performance needed to play top half football in the run in. Nevertheless Mark McGhee will be determined to end the campaign on a high and will look to take as many points from their remaining matches as possible starting this weekend at the Falkirk Stadium. Every match now is huge for the home side as they remain four points adrift at the bottom. John Hughes will need his experienced heads to stand up and be counted in each of their next five matches if they are to beat the drop. Home matches as always will be vital in their quest for survival and I fancy them to take this opportunity if they can start scoring again.
Hamilton 1 - 1 Kilmarnock
Only six points separate the bottom five teams in the SPL and both of these clubs are in that mix. The stakes are incredibly high so the majority of the matches after the split will be tightly contested in the relegation battle. It will only take a couple of wins to ensure safety for either side but I think they will have to make do with a point this weekend. Hamilton have found it particularly difficult to score in recent months and it has cost them dearly. Killie have more firepower but Billy Reid's men are well organised and if they can deal with Kevin Kyle's physical threat they will get something out of the match.
Hibernian 1 - 2 Dundee United
Hibs didn't win a single match after the split last season so they'll want to prove they're not in the top six just to make up the numbers this time round. They did well to see off the threat of Motherwell for a top half finish and Mixu Paatelainen should be congratulated after taking some stick throughout the campaign. On their day his side play great football and can be a match for anyone in the SPL, particularly when the front men click. A European place looks to have evaded them this time round but the visitors to Easter Road this weekend are still well in the hunt to finish fourth. Dundee United haven't quite hit the heights of last season in terms of free flowing football but they have still played some great stuff and have fantastic spirit throughout the squad. This one's really hard to call but United should just edge it for me.
St Mirren 2 - 1 Inverness CT
Inverness are still in a precarious position in the SPL just four points ahead of Falkirk at the bottom of the table. Terry Butcher has done a great job to this point but will know that despite his player's efforts of late they can't afford to take their foot off the gas in the coming weeks. He'll also know that an away trip to St Mirren's new ground is no easy fixture. Gus MacPherson's men have been terrific this season and would have been challenging for a top six place had they not hit a difficult spell just after Christmas. Andy Dorman continues to score goals but it's his game in general that has caught my eye over the last three or four months. The highlanders will need to keep their eye on him this on him this weekend.
Scott Booth was talking to Robbie Balfour