Scottish Premiership preview: Predict the scores as Rangers look for first league win at St Mirren and Celtic host Livingston | Football News

Hibs and Aberdeen have opted for a break to prepare for European football, but there is still plenty of intrigue ahead of another weekend of Scottish Premiership football.

There are four games this weekend, including one live on Sky Sports, and we look at the big talking points, while you can also predict your scores…

Will Martin secure first Premiership win to ease some pressure?

It has been another tumultuous week at Rangers, and Russell Martin will have everything crossed for a victory and good performance at St Mirren, live on Sky Sports.

A calamitous first 20 minutes against Club Brugge on Tuesday has left them with a battle to reach the Champions League proper.

Martin will have some big decisions to make on his starting XI, especially with a trip to Belgium to follow. Captain James Tavernier was dropped again in midweek while Max Aarons struggled in his place.

Rangers have drawn their first two league games, and failure to win in Paisley could see them trailing Celtic by up to 10 points heading into the first Old Firm game of the season.

The Buddies are also still pushing for their first Premiership win of the season, but they knocked Hearts out of the League Cup last weekend and are unbeaten in their last three games against Rangers.

Can Celtic ease fan frustration?

Celtic have started their title defence with back-to-back wins, but there is unrest after their midweek draw with Kairat Almaty in Champions League qualifying emphasised the need for more signings.

Brendan Rodgers’ side opted against postponing the Premiership match to prepare for their 10,000-mile round trip to Kazakhstan for the crucial second leg of their play-off.

While the fans are frustrated by the lack of transfer activity, they have a 100 per cent winning record domestically this season and are potentially just 90 minutes from European football’s elite club competition

Livingston have never won at Celtic Park but have made a strong return to the top flight and were the joint-top scorers in the opening two matches.

Will Hearts bounce back from League Cup defeat to remain top?

Hearts have made a blistering start to their Premiership push with two wins to head into this weekend’s games top of the table.

Their League Cup exit on penalties to St Mirren will have hurt Derek McInnes and the players, but it is so far so good for new shareholder Tony Bloom’s aim of being a force to challenge the Old Firm.

Stuart Findlay has already reached his joint-highest scoring season in the Premiership, while he could become the first player to score in each of his first three top-flight appearances for Hearts since Rudi Skacel netted in his first seven in 2005-06.

Motherwell head to Tynecastle boosted by their League Cup progression as they now look for their first top-flight win of the season.

They do need to improve on their away record in the league having won just two of their last 13 on the road – they last won in Gorgie in 2023.

Who will claim first Premiership win of season?

Another fixture where both sides are still pushing for their first League win of the season is Kilmarnock vs Dundee, although Killie will be boosted by their League Cup win last time out.

Stuart Kettlewell’s concern will be their defensive frailties at times, squandering a two-goal lead in their league game against Livingston, while having to come back from two goals down to take a point at Hibs.

After failure to progress from the group stage of the League Cup and defeat in their Premiership opener, Dundee left Rangers disappointed to have taken only a point.

Steven Pressley has had two weeks to work with his players and he will be hoping that means after this weekend Dundee will no longer be the side with the fewest shots on goal and with the lowest possession rate.