Scottish Premiership: Exciting Weekend Battles - Who Will Reign Supreme?

The Scottish Premiership resumes following the international break with a plethora of exciting matches on the horizon, and one of them will be broadcast live on We.

On Saturday, at lunchtime, the focus will be on McDiarmid Park, where Rangers will face St Johnstone, aiming to rectify their previous league loss to Celtic.

Brendan Rodgers aims to prevent further injuries as the champions face Dundee in one of five 3pm kick-offs. Nick Montgomery, newly in charge at Hibernian, seeks to make an immediate impact. Meanwhile, Aberdeen is still on the hunt for their first win of the season as they visit 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 had a challenging couple of weeks, experiencing a defeat against Celtic after being heavily beaten by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League play-offs. The pressure on manager Michael Beale has risen as the Ibrox club currently holds the fourth position in the Scottish Premiership, trailing their Old Firm rivals by four points.

St Johnstone, currently at the bottom of the table, have not secured a victory this season. However, they managed to surprise everyone by earning a goalless draw at Celtic Park last month. Conversely, Rangers' previous visit to Perth resulted in a 2-1 defeat, which happened 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 Park has been their fortress, with an unbeaten streak in their last 46 league games. However, the previous home match ended in a goalless draw against St Johnstone. Reo Hatate is expected to make his comeback on Saturday, but unfortunately, 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?

This weekend marks the beginning of a promising chapter for Hibernian as they travel to face Kilmarnock. Nick Montgomery, who recently assumed the position of head coach, will lead the team for the first time since replacing Lee Johnson. Despite a challenging start, Hibernian managed to secure their first league victory under the guidance of caretaker manager David Gray. Currently, they are positioned just one point below Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

Killie started the season with an unexpected triumph against Rangers, however, their performance has declined significantly, as they have only managed to accumulate two points since that victory.

Following their recent defeat of 1-0 against Ross County, Derek McInnes' team will strive to evade a consecutive loss 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, currently finding themselves in the bottom half of the table. When they face each other on Saturday, the Tynecastle side will be aiming to avoid a fifth consecutive loss across all competitions.

Despite having only secured one league victory this season, Aberdeen have accumulated just two points from two draws. Unfortunately, the current form does not bode well for them as they have been unable to defeat the Jambos on their travels in the Scottish Premiership 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.

Fir Park club is currently in second place in the table, having achieved three consecutive victories after a draw. The last time they won four matches in a row was in 2019 when Stephen Robinson, who is now the manager of St Mirren, was in charge.

Following two wins and two draws, the Buddies are closely trailing behind in third place, just two points behind.

It is set to be an entertaining encounter in Lanarkshire.

Who will continue their unbeaten start at Fir Park?

Ross County have faced tough challenges at the beginning of the season, taking on both Celtic and Rangers. However, they have managed to secure victories in their other two matches, resulting in a mid-table position at this early stage.

Similarly, Livingston has had a promising start to the season, only suffering a defeat at Ibrox. Apart from that, they have remained unbeaten so far.

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?

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