Beyond The Score

Getty Embeddable by Ian MacNicol

Current Standings

Position	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Loss	GD	Points	Form
1	Celtic	3	3	0	0	9	9	WWW
2	Aberdeen	3	3	0	0	5	9	WWW
3	Rangers	3	2	1	0	7	7	DWW
4	Dundee	3	1	2	0	2	5	DWD
5	Dundee United	3	1	2	0	2	5	DDW
6	Motherwell	3	1	1	1	1	4	DLW
7	ST Johnstone	3	1	0	2	0	3	LWL
8	St Mirren	3	1	0	2	-2	3	WLL
9	Ross County	3	0	2	1	-6	2	DDL
10	Hearts	3	0	1	2	-4	1	DLL
11	Hibernian	3	0	1	2	-5	1	LLD
12	Kilmarnock	3	0	0	3	-9	0	LLL

Fixtures

Home		Away	Day	Kick Off Time	TV Coverage
Dundee	v	St Mirren	Sat 31/8	15:00
St Johnstone	v	Motherwell	Sat 31/8	15:00
Ross County	v	Aberdeen	Sat 31/8	17:45	Premier Sports
Celtic	v	Rangers	Sun 01/09	12:30	Sky Sports
Hearts	v	Dundee United	Sun 01/09	15:00
Kilmarnock	v	HIbernian	Sun 01/09	15:00

Dundee vs St Mirren

Dundee have been the entertainers of Scottish football so far. In their opening eight games (including the Premier Sports Cup) they have scored a whopping thirty-one goals, averaging 3.8 goals a game. Admittedly, this does include some lower-level opposition, nevertheless it remains an impressive stat.

Luke McCowan has been the main man and those in the Dundee hierarchy will be looking to wave off the interest in his services. He has been linked throughout with a move to Celtic meanwhile Hibernian could still swoop in for him before deadline day.

There are still some issues at the back for Dundee as they have a tendency to leak goals, however, this is to be expected of a mid-table side.

St Mirren have suffered a tough start to the season. Since defeating Hibernian on the opening day they have lost their last four domestic games. For a club that hadn’t dealt with the demands of European football before , it seemed to be having a physical impact on them.

Jonah Ayunga and Toyosi Olusanya are a partnership up front which can cause a lot of sides in this league issues though, and they may do just that to Dundee.

Prediction:

This will be a tightly contested battle from two of last season’s top-six sides. In the end nothing will split the two, in a typically high-scoring encounter at Dens Park.

Dundee 2-2 St Mirren

St Johnstone v Motherwell

St Johnstone have lined up this season in Craig Levein’s favoured 4-4-2 fomation. They have produced some positive performances and their squad seems to have a good balance. The partnership upfront of Adama Sidibeh and Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka caused Kilmarnock and Dundee United some real problems.

Last week’s clash against Dundee United will have been very disappointing for them. They dominated for large periods of the game, missed an open goal, yet still came away with nothing to show.

In the past two season’s Motherwell have lost their talismen. Kevin Van Veen and Theo Bair have both left for healthy fees, leaving Stuart Kettlewell with a conundrum up front. Yet, they are coping just fine. That takes good coaching.

Last week’s performance against Hearts was incredibly impressive. They were organised out of possession, meanwhile in possession, they were slick, dangerous and entertaining.

Prediction:

St Johnstone will suffer without the suspended Adama SIdibeh, he is the beating heart in attack. Motherwell will dominate the midfield battle, and register back-to-back league wins.

St Johnstone 0-1 Motherwell

Ross County v Aberdeen

Politely, Ross County are the worst outfit in the top flight currently. They have suffered a torrid two weeks and remain winless after three games. A shock exit in the Premier Sports Cup to Spartans was never going to go down well, however, a 6-0 loss the following week to a struggling Rangers side means they will find their confidence at an all-time low.

In contrast, life has been perfect so far for Jimmy Thelin’s Aberdeen. Eight wins out of eight, they sit level t at the summit with Celtic, Pittodrie is loving what it’s seeing. Losing Bojan Miovski to Girona was always going to be a blow, however, they have recruited smartly bringing in Topi Keskinen and Sivert Heltne Nilsen from Helsinki and Brann. Clearly, Thelin’s knowledge of the Scandinavian market is coming in handy.

Not only have results impressed, but they have paired that with an attractive brand of football. Pape Habib Gueye may not be a Miovski-type forward, but he finally seems to be settling into the striker role at Aberdeen, having scored a brace last week against Kilmarnock.

Prediction

Aberdeen will continue their blistering form up in Dingwall. Jamie McGrath will remain on form and be instrumental in making it four league wins out of four.

Ross County 0-2 Aberdeen

Celtic v Rangers

Ah, the big one. Whatever you want to call it, this is one massive match on Sunday.

For a more in depth preview click HERE.

For Celtic, it’s a chance to go five points clear of their rivals. Even at the early staged if the season L you feel that would be a real blow to a Rangers side looking to win their first title in four seasons. Brendan Rodgers’ men hold the psychological edge in this fixture. In the six matches last year, they won five and drew the other. The last time they lost a meaningful league game against Rangers was three years ago this week.

There has been an improvement this season in their overall play, with the intensity of their game rising. Plus, with new signings set to arrive, the best may still be to come.

As for Rangers, it’s been an ugly start to the season. They already go into this match feeling like it’s a must-not lose thanks to an opening-day draw against Hearts. Moreover, they were knocked out of the Champions League Qualifiers by Dynamo Kyiv, meaning it’s another season in the the second tier of European football.

However, they have picked up some form recently. Domestically, it’s three wins on the spin. Last week’s six-nil hammering of Ross County was their most convincing performance of the season. Although, they will likely approach this tie with more caution and pragmatism.

Prediction

This one will start like many of the derbies previously at Celtic Park, with the home side on the front foot and dominating.

Celtic will create the lion’s share of chances and ultimately win rather comfortably, however, an in-form Cyriel Dessers will find the back of the net to give Rangers a slice of hope.

Celtic 3-1 Rangers

Getty Embeddable Stu Forster

Hearts v Dundee United

It’s a tough time to be a Hearts fan. Since an opening day draw to Rangers, they have lost five on the bounce in all competitions. Boos ringed around Tynecastle last night as an uninspiring performance against Viktoria Plzen meant they were relegated to the UEFA Conference League.

If they have any ambition of reaching the play-off rounds, performances must improve.

It’s a much brighter scene at Dundee United. They remain unbeaten after three league games plus have a Premier Sports Cup quarter final tie with Motherwell around the corner.

The Goodwin blue-print is there. The 3-4-1-2 formation and the aggressive counter-pressing lead to open games no matter the opponent. In truth, they have ridden their luck at times, particularly against St Johnstone last week. Despite a two-nil win, the visitors dominated proceedings.

Predictions

Hearts will put an end to their sorry run of form and pick up their first victory of the season. It won’t be a classic but a 1-0 win will be enough to take some pressure off an under-fire Steven Naismith.

Kilmarnock v Hibernian

Kilmarnock have prioritised European football over the league, at the start of this season. In the words of Derek McInnes , they can “make up” what they have lost domestically. This outlook is understandable. Their tie against Copenhagen was a once in a generation opportunity to reach group stage football. While they lost 3-1 over aggregate, they did Scottish football proud with their competitive spirit.

It’s been a tough start for David Gray’s Hibernian. Away to St Mirren and two clashes with Celtic was somewhat of a baptism of fire for the former captain in the hotseat.

Yet, last week at home to Dundee they still failed to register that first win. The longer the run goes on the tougher life becomes. They have attacking talent but the lack of defensive stability which has cost them season after season seems to be costing them once more. Last week against Dundee the chances they were conceding were pretty ridiculous.

Prediction

Kilmarnock will feel the effects of a taxing Thursday night clash, as Hibernian pick up their first win of the season. They will have to work for it though with a narrow 2-1 score line.