Celtic to host Heart of Midlothian in Sunday's Scottish Premiership showdown
Martin O'Neill, Wouter Vrancken and Derek McInnes are all targeting the Premiership title as Celtic and Heart of Midlothian meet at Celtic Park on Sunday, following European setbacks for both clubs on Thursday.
Celtic lead the Scottish Premiership by two points and have won 14 of their past 15 league matches, scoring at least twice in 11 of those victories, but their convincing win at Motherwell on Sunday was eclipsed by a 4-1 Europa League defeat by Benfica on Thursday. The club have lost four of their last five matches, their manager considered his position a couple of weeks ago before deciding to remain in charge, and sections of the fan base remain at odds with the club.
Hearts have claimed only two wins in their last 11 away league games and have gone without a clean sheet in those matches; their most painful defeat in that run came at Celtic Park last season, when Celtic ended Hearts' three-game unbeaten run there to overtake the long-time leaders on the final day. Hearts have won twice in their past six visits to Celtic Park, are on a run of one defeat in 13 overall and conceded a late equaliser in their Conference League opener against Nordsjaelland.
Celtic have produced the most goal attempts in the Premiership this season, while Hearts and Rangers have faced fewer attempts than any other sides. Martin O'Neill has indicated frustration with Kasper Hogh and hinted that Camilo Duran could move off the wing to lead the line in place of the Dane, with the timing of the post-European weekend also cited as a possible vulnerability for top clubs.
Dundee host Rangers on Saturday as one of four matches kicking off at 15:00 BST, with Rangers aiming to leapfrog Celtic in the table with a win. Rangers are on a seven-game winning streak, are unbeaten in four Premiership away matches this season and have won their past three away league fixtures; they have not lost to Dundee in 20 meetings since a 2-1 defeat in November 2017 and prevailed 3-0 in the last two encounters. Striker Ryan Naderi has scored six goals in 12 games this season, while Djeidi Gassama leads the Premiership for completed dribbles, touches in the opposition penalty area and fouls won.
Aberdeen had gone four matches without defeat before losing to St Johnstone on Sunday and have won only twice in seven outings, one of those victories coming after a penalty shootout. They have failed to score in each of their past three home league games; two of those goalless home results came against St Mirren, who have beaten Aberdeen in each of their last two meetings 2-0 both home and away. St Mirren's win in May means they have prevailed in four of their past seven visits to Pittodrie and lost only once in their last seven meetings overall, while Craig McLeish's side arrive having lost four in a row, their latest two away without scoring. Ryan Carr has attempted more tackles than any player in the Premiership this season, with Aberdeen's Afeez Aremu second.
Marink Reedijk is still seeking his first Hibernian win and will face Falkirk, the only Premiership side yet to record an away victory this season; Falkirk have not won in seven trips to Easter Road since August 2014, have lost their past two matches after five consecutive draws and have taken a point in their most recent two outings, having won just once in eight. Hibernian have one win in six games and Reedijk's side have gone eight matches without a clean sheet; both Hibs and Falkirk sit in the division's bottom three for chance conversion rate. Kilmarnock occupy the lowest position in that conversion table and the Premiership overall, having won once in seven outings and sharing the joint-bottom spot with Hibs for points won and with Aberdeen for fewest goals, while also conceding the most goals.
In Perth, St Johnstone host Dundee United as the Tayside rivals seek to build on last weekend's victories; Dundee United must contend with Josh Fowler, the Premiership's top scorer with five goals from 10 goal attempts.
Four fixtures kick off at the traditional 15:00 BST slot on Saturday, including Dundee v Rangers, with Celtic v Heart of Midlothian scheduled for Sunday at Celtic Park, where a Celtic win could extend the five-point gap between themselves and the third-place visitors while a Rangers victory on Saturday would move Rangers above Celtic in the table.
