Friday 16 March 2018 14:49, UK
What a few days of derby action we had on Sky Sports on Rivalry Weekend.
First Hibs came out on top in a gritty yet gripping Edinburgh derby followed by an enthralling end-to-end Old Firm in which 10-man Celtic managed to inflict more misery on their rivals across Glasgow.
Hamilton also gained an important victory in their Lanarkshire derby against top-six chasing Motherwell, which helped in their quest to avoid finishing in the relegation positions.
There are some equally intriguing games at both ends of the Scottish Premiership this coming weekend - Sky Sports Scotland's commentary team of Ian Crocker and Andy Walker take you through their predictions and players to watch.
St Johnstone v Hibernian - Friday 7.45pm
Andy Walker
St Johnstone 1-1 Hibernian
Key Player- Scott Allan
His performance was excellent against Hearts, looks to be flourishing again at Easter Road.
Ian Crocker
St Johnstone 1-3 Hibernian
Key Player - Dylan McGeouch
Fully deserving of Scotland call-up, he's been a pleasure to watch.
Opta Stats
St. Johnstone are unbeaten in their last four top-flight games against Hibernian (W2 D2), conceding just two goals in the process.
However, Hibernian have avoided defeat in each of their last two trips to Mc Diarmid Park (W1 D1) having lost their previous two visits in the competition.
St. Johnstone have won just one of their last 10 league games on home soil (D2 L7).
Hibernian are enjoying a five-game unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership (W4 D1); in fact, Hibs have lost just one of their last 10 league games (W6 D3).
Hibernian have made just 49 changes to their starting line-up this season - only Rangers have made fewer (44) in comparison to Celtic's league-high 118.
Aberdeen v Dundee - Saturday 3pm
Andy Walker
Aberdeen 2-0 Dundee
Key Player - Kenny McLean
Handled a couple of pressure penalties brilliantly in Scottish Cup replay against Kilmarnock & included in Alex McLeish's new look Scotland squad.
Ian Crocker
Aberdeen 2-0 Dundee
Key Player - Kenny McLean
Can make things happen for others or for himself.
Opta Stats
Aberdeen are enjoying an eight-game winning streak against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership; in fact, the Dons are unbeaten in 17 top-flight matches against the Dee (W12 D5), last suffering defeat in December 2004.
Dundee have lost six of their last seven away matches against Aberdeen in the top-flight (D1), having never lost at the Pittodrie Stadium prior to this run (P13 W6 D7).
Aberdeen are winless and have failed to score in each of their last three league games (D1 L2); the Dons last went on a longer run without scoring in August 2016 (run of four).
Indeed, Dundee themselves have gone two league matches without finding the back of the net (L2); the Dee have lost four of their last five Scottish Premiership matches (W1). They haven't gone more than two games without scoring since May 2015 (run of three).
Aberdeen have a league-high 17 different goal scorers in the Scottish Premiership this campaign.
Hearts v Partick Thistle- Saturday 3pm
Andy Walker
Hearts 1-0 Partick Thistle
Key Player - Jon McLaughlin
His impressive performances this season have been rewarded with a Scotland call-up. Well deserved!
Ian Crocker
Hearts 1-0 Partick Thistle
Key Player - Kyle Lafferty
The big man could make a big difference in a tight game.
Opta Stats
Hearts have lost just one of their last nine Scottish Premiership matches against Partick Thistle (W4 D4), however they are winless in the last five meetings between the two sides in the competition (D4 L1).
Each of the last three contests between Hearts and Thistle at Tynecastle have ended in a draw, most recently in November 2017 (1-1).
Hearts are enjoying a 10-game unbeaten run on home soil in the Scottish Premiership (W4 D6), keeping six clean sheets in the process.
Partick Thistle have won just one of their last 19 away league games (D7 L11) failing to score in nine of those matches.
Partick Thistle have conceded nine penalties in the Scottish Premiership this season, more than double their total for the entirety of last season (4) and three more than any other side in the competition this season (St. Johnstone and Hamilton Academical both six).
Rangers v Kilmarnock - Saturday 3pm
Andy Walker
Rangers 1-0 Kilmarnock
Key Player - Alfredo Morelos
Has to quickly get over his horror miss against Celtic last weekend, time to get back on the goal trail.
Ian Crocker
Rangers 2-1 Kilmarnock
Key Player - Alfredo Morelos
Eager to make up for Old Firm miss and a few other misses of late.
Opta Stats
Rangers have picked up 61 points from the previous 69 on offer against Kilmarnock at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership (P23 W20 D1 L2).
However, Killie have lost just one of their last seven top-flight matches against Rangers (W3 D3), having lost 13 of the previous 14 (D1).
Rangers' 2-3 defeat to Celtic last time out ended a run of four consecutive victories - Rangers last lost back to back league games in December (1-3 v St. Johnstone and 1-2 v Kilmarnock).
Killie are unbeaten in seven league matches (W6 D1); in fact they have lost just one of their last 14 Scottish Premiership games (W9 D4)
Since the start of 2018, Josh Windass has been directly involved in eight league goals for Rangers (six goals, two assists), more than any other player in the Scottish Premiership.
Ross County v Hamilton Accies - Saturday 3pm
Andy Walker
Ross County 2-1 Hamilton Accies
Key Player - Alex Schalk
Looks like County's last chance of escaping the drop, its win or bust!
Ian Crocker
Ross County 2-2 Hamilton Accies
Key Player - David Templeton
Looking like his old self with some vital goals of late.
Opta Stats
Ross County have won five of their previous six matches against Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership on home soil (D1).
However, Hamilton secured a 3-2 victory the last time the two sides met in a fiery encounter which saw both teams end the game with 10 men, whilst an 89th minute own goal from Jamie Lindsay secured all three points for Hamilton.
Ross County have won just one of their last 16 league matches (D4 L11).
Hamilton however have won back to back league games for the first time since August and last went on a longer winning run back in August 2015 (three consecutive victories).
Only Kris Boyd (9) and Alfredo Morelos (7) have scored more goals on home soil than Ross County's Alex Schalk (5).
Motherwell v Celtic - Live on Sky Football from 2pm Sunday
Andy Walker
Motherwell 2-3 Celtic
Key Player - Tom Rogic
A Rolls Royce of a player for Celtic, his equaliser against Rangers last weekend in that pulsating Premiership clash was a thing of beauty.
Ian Crocker
Motherwell 1-3 Celtic
Key Player - Moussa Dembele
The goals have returned at last with 4 in the last 3 games.
Opta Stats
Motherwell are winless in their last seven Scottish Premiership matches against Celtic (D1 L6); in fact, the Steelmen have won just one of their last 16 games against Celtic in the top-flight (D3 L12).
Celtic are unbeaten in their last seven trips to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership (W5 D2), scoring in all but one of their 35 away matches against the Steelmen.
Motherwell have won just two of their last eight home league matches (D3 L3).
No side has won more away games in the Scottish Premiership this season than Celtic (11, Rangers also 11).
Moussa Dembele has been involved in seven goals in his last five league games for Celtic (three goals, four assists), as many as in his previous 18 games (four goals, three assists).
