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SPL breakdown

Last updated: 25th November 2009

Mulgrew: Set-piece menace

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After another topsy-turvy round of matches, the Scottish Premier League remains as tight as ever.

Following their 3-3 draw with Falkirk, Celtic failed to bounce back and were duly defeated 2-1 by Dundee United, whilst Hibs' away form once again undermined their ambitions as they drew 1-1 at St Mirren Park, leaving Rangers to take the initiative and seize top spot.

With the "Old Firm" starting to look decidedly vulnerable, Opta investigate the fallout of the latest round of matches.

The End of the Old Firm?

A casual glance at this season's Scottish Premier League table would suggest that the competition is running its usual course, with Celtic and Rangers leading the way as they have in so many seasons before.

However this campaign is one of the closest ever, with just three points separating the top four and with Dundee United having a game in hand over their opponents.

Though Hibernian and Dundee United are performing well, one of the main reasons for the lack of space at the top of the table is that the two Old Firm teams aren't winning as often as they have done in the past.

Indeed, in the last seven matchdays on which the old rivals have both played, there hasn't been a single one where both Glasgow sides have won:

Celtic and Rangers Last Nine Matchdays in SPL	�	�	�	�	�
Matchday	Date	Celtic Opponent	Celtic Result	Rangers Opponent	Rangers Result
4	12 Sep	Dundee Utd	1-1	Kilmarnock	0-0
5	19-20 Sep	Hearts	2-1	Motherwell	0-0
6	26 Sep	St Mirren	2-0	Aberdeen	0-0
Celtic played Rangers on matchday 7	�	�	�	�	�
8	17 Oct	Motherwell	0-0	St Johnstone	2-1
9	24-25 Oct	Hamilton	2-1	Rangers	1-1
Rangers did not play matchday 10	�	�	�	�	�
11	7-8 Oct	Falkirk	3-3	St Mirren	2-1
12	21-22 Oct	Dundee Utd	1-2	Kilmarnock	3-0

Though between them they have lost only one SPL match on the last seven matchdays when they have played together, Celtic and Rangers have not won on the same weekend since matchday three, when the Bhoys beat Hibs and the 'Gers defeated Hamilton.

Betting punters will certainly have become aware of this pattern when including the Old Firm in their accumulators, as this sort of a run is highly out of the ordinary in the SPL.

In fact, this is the first time ever that at least one side has failed to win on seven consecutive matchdays in the competition when they have both been playing (not inc. games against each other):

Consecutive matchdays in which at least one of the Old Firm sides failed to win in SPL	�	�
Season	Date of last matchday where both Old Firm sides failed to win	Consecutive matchdays
2009/10	N/A	7
2008/09	2-21-09	5
2007/08	10-28-07	5
2005/06	12-4-05	5
1999/00	4-2-00	5
2000/01	10-29-00	4
1998/99	9-26-98	4

Previously, the longest run of matchdays in which one of the Old Firm sides failed to win was five games, but so far this season there has already been a run of seven.

Interestingly four of the five runs of five or more matchdays when one team has failed to win have come in the last five seasons, suggesting that this is a modern trend, with the Old Firm gradually losing their once-tight grip on Scottish top-flight competition in recent years.

Can Rangers hold on to top spot?

Following Celtic's defeat to Dundee United at the weekend, Rangers reclaimed top spot in the SPL with a comfortable victory over Kilmarnock at Ibrox.

However they should perhaps not become too comfortable in their position, as this weekend they travel to Pittodrie, aside from Celtic Park, their least favourite ground in the SPL:

Rangers at opposition's stadia in the SPL (at least 3 trips)	�	�	�
Opposition	Matches Played	Wins	Win %
St Mirren	7	6	86%
Kilmarnock	19	14	74%
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	7	5	71%
Dundee	13	9	69%
Dunfermline Athletic	15	10	67%
Falkirk	6	4	67%
St Johnstone	8	5	62%
Hearts	21	13	62%
Hibernian	20	12	60%
Motherwell	19	10	53%
Dundee United	20	10	50%
Livingston	8	4	50%
Aberdeen	21	9	43%
Celtic	22	5	23%

Aberdeen's is the only ground, aside from Celtic's, where the 'Gers have won under 50 per cent of their SPL matches.

This tendency has been even worse for the Teddy Bears in recent seasons, as they have won on just one of their last trips to Aberdeen:

Rangers' last eight trips to Pittodrie (SPL)	�	�
Date	Score	Result
8-14-05	2-3	L
2-8-06	0-2	L
12-23-06	2-1	W
5-20-07	0-2	L
12-23-07	1-1	D
5-22-08	0-2	L
8-23-08	1-1	D
1-24-09	0-0	D

Rivals Celtic, on the other hand, have one of their favourite fixtures to relish on Saturday: St Mirren at home.

In 13 SPL clashes with the Bhoys, the Saints have managed just one point - only Livingston have a poorer record against Celtic:

Teams' SPL record vs Celtic (at least 10 games)	�	�	�
Team	Games Played	Total Points	Points per Game
Rangers	45	57	1.27
Hearts	44	32	0.73
St Johnstone	15	10	0.67
Hibernian	38	24	0.63
Motherwell	39	23	0.59
Aberdeen	42	18	0.43
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	15	6	0.40
Dundee United	40	15	0.38
Falkirk	13	4	0.31
Dunfermline Athletic	28	8	0.29
Dundee	25	7	0.28
Kilmarnock	40	11	0.28
St Mirren	13	1	0.08
Livingston	16	1	0.06

Given these past records, and the aforementioned fact that Celtic and Rangers are both struggling to win on the same matchday this season, it would seem as though it would be the Bhoys who would be the more hopeful side going into this weekend's clashes.

Charlie Mulgrew - Set Piece Menace

Aberdeen have not been the most prolific of sides in the Scottish Premier League this season, scoring only 10 goals in their 12 games so far.

However, they do have one lethal weapon in the form of Charlie Mulgrew - the left back who has been involved in half of their league goals in 2009/10.

Aberdeen's goals in the SPL 2009/10	�	�	�	�	�	�
Date	Minute	Scorer	Opposition	Venue	Assist	Set Piece Type
2009-08-15	61	Aluko	Celtic	Home	McDonald G	Open
2009-08-22	23	Mulgrew	Hamilton Academical	Away	�	Direct Shot
2009-08-22	29	Considine	Hamilton Academical	Away	Mulgrew	Free Kick
2009-08-22	63	Maguire	Hamilton Academical	Away	Mulgrew	Open
2009-09-19	88	Mulgrew	St Mirren	Home	�	Direct Shot
2009-10-03	84	McDonald G	Kilmarnock	Away	�	Free Kick
2009-10-17	42	Miller L	Hearts	Home	�	Open
2009-11-07	15	Aluko	St Johnstone	Home	Pawlett	Open
2009-11-07	83	Miller L	St Johnstone	Home	�	Penalty
2009-11-21	67	McDonald G	Motherwell	Away	Mulgrew	Corner

Mulgrew has assisted three goals this season and scored two.

The goals both came from direct free kicks, whereas two of the assists, including one last time out against Motherwell, came from set pieces, and the lofty left-footer has been involved in more goals from set pieces this season (four) than any other player in the Scottish top flight.

Rangers should be wary of committing too many fouls in their own half when they come up against the Dons on Saturday.