Scottish Premiership Weekend Preview: Celtic’s Tannadice Test, Hearts’ Struggles, and Rangers’ Position

The Scottish Premiership schedule for the upcoming weekend spans three days. It commences on Friday evening with Motherwell playing host to Kilmarnock and concludes on Sunday with St Johnstone’s match against struggling Heart of Midlothian, a contest at the bottom of the league. In the upper echelons of the league standings, Aberdeen and Rangers have an opportunity on Saturday to reduce Celtic’s lead. Celtic, currently at the top, is scheduled to play Dundee United the subsequent day. Several key aspects warrant attention. The question arises whether Sunday will mark a positive anniversary for United. It will be nearly ten years since Celtic last suffered a defeat at Tannadice. On that occasion, goals from Nadir Ciftci and Stuart Armstrong, both of whom later played for Celtic, set United on course for a win, despite a late response from Leigh Griffiths. This match occurred on Sunday, 21 December 2014. Since then, Tannadice has proven to be a favorable venue for the Glasgow team, who have remained undefeated in 11 subsequent visits, securing seven victories and netting 18 goals in their most recent five appearances there. Nine of those goals were scored during a notable victory in August 2022, where striker Kyogo Furuhashi, one of five players from that day’s starting eleven still in the current squad, achieved a hat-trick. Celtic proceeded to claim their 53rd Scottish league title that season. Following their triumph in Sunday’s League Cup final against Rangers, securing their first trophy of the current season, they can now focus on strengthening their leading position in the league campaign. Brendan Rodgers’ team travels to Tayside for their initial encounter of the season with United. They are currently on a 15-game unbeaten streak, with seven of these matches played away from Celtic Park. This run commenced after their 7-1 Champions League defeat by Borussia Dortmund, which stands as their sole loss in 25 fixtures this season. Given that second-placed Aberdeen and Rangers are both playing at home on Saturday, Celtic’s lead at the top of the table might be diminished by the time of their noon kick-off. However, there has been no indication this season that such pressure impacts Rodgers’ team. Their nine-point advantage over Aberdeen, and a further two points over their city rivals, provides considerable flexibility as they pursue a tenth consecutive away league win. In fact, with 14 wins and one draw, this represents Celtic’s joint-best start to a league season after 15 matches, on par with the 2001-02, 2003-04, and 2016-17 seasons. Furthermore, they hold an unbeaten record in 19 overall encounters against United, who recently lost 4-3 at Motherwell on Saturday, consequently ceding fourth place to their opponents. Nevertheless, the trip to Tannadice is anticipated to be one of Celtic’s more challenging domestic fixtures, especially as Jim Goodwin’s recently promoted team had maintained a five-game unbeaten streak prior to their match against Motherwell. Makenzie Kirk registered a goal in Saturday’s loss to St Mirren. It would exacerbate Hearts’ Premiership difficulties, already compounded by their exit from the Conference League on Thursday, if Makenzie Kirk were to perform effectively against them on Sunday. After concluding his tenure at Tynecastle, during which he aided Hamilton Academical in securing promotion from League 1 while on loan, the 20-year-old player was transferred to St Johnstone this summer for an undisclosed amount. Collaborating with his father Andy, who serves as Saints’ assistant and is also a former Hearts striker, the younger Kirk initially featured regularly as a substitute under Craig Levein. However, he has since started the last four games under new manager Simo Valakari, rewarding the Finnish manager with three goals, two of which came in his most recent two appearances. The Edinburgh-born Northern Ireland Under-19 international forward is likely confident of increasing his goal count, considering Neil Critchley’s team has achieved only one clean sheet in their last nine league matches and secured just one victory in nine overall fixtures, following their 2-2 home draw against Moldovan club Petrocub. Nevertheless, even with Kirk’s contributions, St Johnstone has recorded only one win themselves in their last seven games. St Johnstone occupies the position directly above their hosts, who are at the bottom of the table, by a single spot and one point. This upcoming match features two clubs where the initial positive impact of a new manager has rapidly diminished. Kirk and St Johnstone will contend with a challenging recent history, as St Johnstone has suffered four consecutive losses at Tynecastle since their 1-0 victory in December 2019. Hearts, conversely, have won all of their last seven encounters with St Johnstone since a 2-1 defeat in February 2022. They will be eager to compensate for their inability to secure a win against lower-ranked visitors, which would have extended their European campaign beyond Christmas for the first time in 36 years. However, if Kirk contributes to ending Hearts’ winning streak in this particular fixture, it would further intensify scrutiny regarding the recruitment strategy at his previous club. It is uncommon to assert that a football manager’s pressure has been alleviated by two high-profile matches without a win, yet this describes Philippe Clement’s current situation with Rangers. Weeks prior, speculation suggested that securing victory in Sunday’s League Cup final was imperative for the Belgian manager, as it would coincide with the official commencement of new chief executive Patrick Stewart’s tenure. Instead, Clement’s team has garnered praise, with last week’s Europa League draw against Tottenham Hotspur being succeeded by a comparably encouraging performance in their penalty shootout loss to Celtic at Hampden. Typically, a defeat by their fierce city rivals would trigger significant internal examination, particularly as Clement has not yet overcome Celtic in six attempts, and his team holds third place in the league table, trailing both the reigning champions and Aberdeen. This occasion, however, attention has largely centered on a penalty that officials incorrectly disallowed and another that was saved during the shootout. From a statistical perspective, the upcoming match against Dundee should offer Rangers a chance to resume their positive trajectory, following the conclusion of their nine-game unbeaten streak on Sunday. Although Tony Docherty’s team is positioned respectably in seventh place, they have secured only one victory in their previous 11 away league matches, suffering six defeats. This away form is not ideal when facing a team that has remained undefeated at home domestically this season, and in seven overall fixtures since Lyon’s Europa League visit. In fact, Dundee has not defeated Rangers in 14 encounters, with their last victory being a 2-1 success at Dens Park in November 2017. They have also lost on their most recent 18 trips to Ibrox, a streak dating back to March 2001 when goals from Claudio Caniggia and Stevie Milne secured a win for Ivano Bonetti’s visiting side. Matches involving Dundee have generated the highest number of goals in the Premiership this season. Conversely, Rangers’ games have seen the fewest goals. However, Clement’s team is expected to be confident in improving this statistic, having scored 31 goals in the last eight meetings between the two clubs.