Champions Rangers remain top of the Scottish Premiership; Celtic trail their Old Firm rivals by four points; Hearts and Dundee United are just two points further behind
Tuesday 2 November 2021 16:13, UK
After another dramatic month in the Scottish Premiership, the top four all feature in the WhoScored.com team of the month for October.
League-leaders Rangers ended the month with a 6-1 victory at Motherwell to make it three wins and two draws in October.
They have three players in the best XI, as do Celtic - who earned 13 points from a possible 15.
Dundee United picked up 10 points from their five matches and also have three players in the team as Thomas Courts' side continue their impressive start to the season, while Hearts and St Mirren make up the XI.
Their form may have dipped in October, but Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon features between the sticks in the Scottish Premiership team of the month with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.04.
Only Liam Kelly (24) made more saves than Gordon (22) as the experienced Scot did all he could to help his side.
With a rating of 8.22, James Tavernier is the WhoScored.com Scottish Premiership player of the month.
The 30-year-old Rangers star had a direct hand in more goals (six) than any other player in the division in October as he registered four assists and scored two goals. The Gers skipper made more key passes (20) than any other player to help land the award.
The first of three Dundee United players to feature, the Tangerines conceded just three goals in October, only Celtic (two) shipped fewer, with their solid backline a key reason for their rise up the table.
Ryan Edwards put in a key shift in the final third, scoring two and assisting one, while at the other end of the pitch, 36 clearances was more than any other player and helped the centre-back to a WhoScored.com rating of 7.68.
Edwards' centre-back partner at Dundee United, the experienced Charlie Mulgrew was superb at the heart of the defence in October.
Mulgrew directly contributed to two goals last month, both of those coming in a 2-1 win over Motherwell, while off the ball, the 35-year-old put his body on the line for the good of the team, with five blocked shots the seventh-best return and enough to feature in this XI with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.59.
The third and final Dundee United representative completes the defence. Scott McMann continues to prove a bargain buy for the Tannadice Park side.
He provided his first assist of the season in October, that coming in a man-of-the-match display at Hibs, while no player made more tackles and interceptions combined than the 25-year-old (25), who nailed down the left-back spot with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.34.
David Turnbull is the first Celtic player to make the team of the month with the young Scot doing his utmost to pry apart defences.
Only Tavernier (20) made more key passes than Turnbull (19) in the Scottish Premiership in October, those resulting in three assists. With an additional goal, the 22-year-old is good value for his inclusion with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.88.
Joining Celtic team-mate Turnbull in the middle of the park is Callum McGregor, the 28-year-old returning a WhoScored.com rating of 7.22 last month.
McGregor was unable to register an assist in October, but it was not for want of trying, with his 10 key passes the seventh best return in the division. He set the tempo for Celtic well, making more accurate passes (417) than any other player to feature in midfield.
Jamie McGrath proved a tough player to stop in October as the St Mirren star rounds off the midfield.
A return of eight successful dribbles was the fifth-best return in Scotland's top tier in October. Four key passes was also a respectable return as McGrath makes the grade with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.28.
The final Celtic player in the side features on the frontline as Jota stars from the right in this XI.
Like McGrath, Jota also completed eight dribbles in October and he was hugely effective in the final third, directly contributing to four goals last month, scoring two, to complete the Celtic contingent with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.21.
No player scored more goals than Alfredo Morelos (three) in October as the Rangers forward spearheads the attack.
The Colombian's goal against St Mirren last month was his 100th in a Rangers shirt, a fine achievement for the 25-year-old, with Morelos' three goals coming from 27 shots, at least eight more than any other player, as he leads the charge in this team with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.16.
Fashion Sakala has struggled for game time in a Rangers shirt following his arrival from Oostende, but the Zambian makes the Scottish Premiership team of the month, largely due to his hat-trick against Motherwell.
Sakala became the fourth player to earn a perfect WhoScored.com 10 rating in a Scottish Premiership match this season and that meant he ended the month with an average of 7.70, enough to join Jota and Morelos on the frontline.