Hamilton v St Johnstone
Accies have never beaten Saints in a top-flight game in their history but know they can put daylight between themselves and the bottom-placed Perth men if they put that right on Saturday.  Two seasons ago the sides were battling for the first division title with very little to choose between them at two wins apiece.

Saints can only hope for a repeat of the last time the clubs met in the top division – they ran out 5-0 winners in season 1965-66.  Derek McInnes’ side have not looked out of place so far but are still the only Clydesdale Bank Premier League side awaiting their first victory.

Hibernian v Dundee United
Third plays fourth in what could already be a vital game as far as European qualification is concerned.  John Hughes’ men don’t seem to do draws these days – they’ve won four from six with the defeats to Celtic and Hamilton sandwiched in the middle of that run.

Craig Levein’s side responded well to the home set-back against Motherwell by winning a thrilling Tayside derby at Perth last week.  But the United boss will have to do without the services of midfielder Danny Swanson who was red carded against Saints.

Kilmarnock v Aberdeen
Both sides have been boosted by unlikely points gained against champions Rangers in recent weeks but that will quickly be forgotten by both camps if not backed up with a win here.  Killie’s record against the Dons in recent times is poor – winning just two of the past 10 league encounters.

Mark McGhee is likely to have key roles for Fraser Fyvie, 16, Peter Pawlett, 18, and Michael Paton, 20 – three youngsters who’ve captured the imagination of the Dons fans.  Manuel Pascali, who served a one game ban against Falkirk last week after being sent-off against Rangers, is available for selection by Jim Jefferies again.

Motherwell v Falkirk
Jim Gannon’s young side have been perhaps the story of the season so far with their defeat at home to Hibs last week their first domestic reverse of the season.  Young Ross Forbes will be hoping to sign off with another goal before he makes his Scotland U21 debut against Belarus next week.

The Bairns haven’t scored in their last four matches and Eddie May will need someone to step up to the plate if he’s to get his first league win as Falkirk boss.  Recent history favours Falkirk though – in the seven matches between the sides over the past two seasons they’ve lost only once.

St Mirren v Hearts
No-one will need to remind Gus MacPherson or his players that St Mirren’s winless run at their new home now stands at 11 games.  To make matters worse, it was season 1990-91 when the Buddies last recorded a home league win against the Jambos in the league although they’ve enjoyed some success in Gorgie in the past couple of years.

Hearts have turned around their poor start to the season, having now only lost once in six games in all competitions.  That said Csaba Laszlo’s men have still only kept one clean sheet in their six Clydesdale Bank Premier League games so far.

Rangers v Celtic (Sun 12.30pm)
The first clash of the season between the Glasgow titans sees Tony Mowbray’s side go in with a four-point lead at the top of the table.  Walter Smith’s men have failed to score or indeed concede a goal in any of their last three league games.

Rangers have enjoyed the edge in the dozen Old Firm encounters over the past three seasons - winning six, drawing twice and losing just four.  However Celtic did win at Ibrox last December only for the eight-point gap that opened up that day to be lost over the remainder of the season.

By cbfootball.co.uk   Last updated: 19 October 2009