Scottish Premiership: Exciting Showdowns Await This Weekend - Who Will Reign Supreme?

The Scottish Premiership resumes following the international break, promising a plethora of exciting matches. One of these games will be broadcast live on We.

This Saturday, the attention will focus on McDiarmid Park at lunchtime, as Rangers face St Johnstone. Rangers will be determined to bounce back from their recent defeat to Celtic in the league.

One of the five 3pm kick-offs features the champions hosting Dundee. Brendan Rodgers, aiming to prevent further injuries, prepares for their upcoming Champions League opener next week. Following his recent appointment, Nick Montgomery is eager to make a significant impact at Hibernian. Meanwhile, Aberdeen continues their search for their first victory of the season as they travel to face Hearts.

Here we take a look at what's at stake...

What is live on Sky?

St. Johnstone

Rangers

Saturday 16th September 12:00pm

Kick off 12:30pm

Rangers have endured a challenging period recently, suffering a loss to Celtic after being heavily defeated by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League play-off. The Ibrox club's manager, Michael Beale, is under growing pressure as they currently occupy fourth place in the Scottish Premiership, trailing their Old Firm rivals by four points.

St Johnstone are currently at the bottom of the table, having not secured a win this season. However, they did manage to stun everyone with a goalless draw against Celtic Park last month. Rangers' previous visit to Perth resulted in a 2-1 loss, which turned out to be former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst's second-to-last game in charge.

Celtic return from the international break sitting two points clear in the Scottish Premiership after their victory at Ibrox last time out.

Celtic was unable to score a goal against St Johnstone in their previous home game; however, they have maintained an undefeated streak of 46 league matches at Celtic Park. Reo Hatate is expected to rejoin the squad on Saturday, but Liel Abada will be sidelined for approximately four months due to a thigh injury.

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Reo Hatate was forced off during Celtic's win over Aberdeen

Dundee have picked up five points so far this season but it is set to be a tough test for Tony Docherty's side in Glasgow.

They have failed to beat the Hoops in their last 39 meetings - their last win came back in 2001 when Martin O'Neill was in charge.

Can Celtic maintain their two-point lead at the top?

Hibernian begins a new chapter as they visit Kilmarnock this weekend, with Nick Montgomery assuming his role as head coach following the departure of Lee Johnson. Despite a challenging beginning, under the guidance of caretaker manager David Gray, Hibernian secured their first league victory and currently trail Kilmarnock by a single point in the Scottish Premiership.

Killie started the season with an unexpected triumph against Rangers, but their performance has since declined, accumulating only two points.

Following their recent 1-0 defeat to Ross County, Derek McInnes' team aims to prevent back-to-back losses at home in the league.

Will it be a winning start for Montgomery?

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Steven Naismith (R) is now in charge at Hearts

Hearts and Aberdeen have had a disappointing start to the season, finding themselves in the bottom half of the table. In their upcoming match on Saturday, the Tynecastle side will aim to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat across all competitions as they face the Dons at home.

Aberdeen have only secured one win in the league this season, resulting in just two points from two draws. Additionally, their track record against the Jambos on away grounds in the Scottish Premiership has been unimpressive, with no victories since December 2016.

Can Aberdeen claim their first win of the season?

Motherwell and St Mirren have made strong starts to the new season, with both sides unbeaten so far.

The Fir Park club are currently in second position in the table, having secured three consecutive victories after a draw. The last time they achieved four consecutive wins was under the guidance of their current manager, Stephen Robinson, in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Buddies are closely behind in third place, trailing by just two points. They have registered two wins and two draws thus far.

It is set to be an entertaining encounter in Lanarkshire.

Who will continue their unbeaten start at Fir Park?

Ross County have faced challenging opponents in Celtic and Rangers this season, but their victories in the remaining two matches have placed them in a respectable mid-table position. Similarly, Livingston has enjoyed a strong start to the season, with their only setback being a loss at Ibrox.

It is County who could set a new record this weekend.

After their 2-0 win in May last season, they could enjoy successive victories over Livingston in the top flight for the first time.

A historic afternoon for Ross County?

This season, We offers up to 48 cinch Premiership matches on its flagship channels, such as We Football and We Main Event, as well as at least five SWPL matches. Starting from 2024/25, We will feature up to 60 live cinch Premiership games, in addition to the SWPL. For Scottish football fans, We News (channel 409) provides continuous editorial coverage of the cinch Premiership and SWPL throughout the entire week.

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