Scottish Premiership Weekend Preview: Form Struggles at Easter Road, Shankland’s Goal Drought, and Docherty’s Challenge

The Scottish Premiership schedule for the weekend is condensed as Aberdeen, Celtic, Motherwell, and Rangers compete for a spot in the Premier Sports Cup final, with matches spread across Saturday and Sunday. Here are some key players and fixtures to monitor. A video featuring Dundee Utd manager Jim Goodwin discussing his celebration fall is currently unavailable. Sunday’s fixture at Easter Road features two teams aiming to return to a victorious streak. Hibernian has not secured a win throughout October, with their most recent triumph occurring on 14 September, marking a five-game winless period. Dundee United’s performance since rejoining the top flight has been consistent, though recent narrow losses to Aberdeen and Motherwell have caused a slight drop in their league standing. United, currently in fifth place and eight points ahead of second-bottom Hibs, holds an unbeaten record in their last four visits to Easter Road. Their previous encounter, a 3-2 victory for the Tangerines at Tannadice, suggests this upcoming match could be an exciting one. Lawrence Shankland (pictured right) did not score in Wednesday’s game against Kilmarnock. Despite making fifteen appearances this season, last season’s Premiership leading scorer, Lawrence Shankland, has registered only one goal in the current campaign. The 29-year-old Scotland international striker is in the final year of his existing contract with Heart of Midlothian, making him a likely subject of transfer speculation in January. His next opportunity to regain his previous scoring form will be on Saturday against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. Shankland has a strong record in this fixture, having scored in six of his last seven matches against St Johnstone, including the most recent three. He has not yet scored in four consecutive league games against the same opponent, and facing a team that Hearts has defeated six times consecutively, with three of those wins occurring in Perth, presents an opportune moment to achieve this. An additional goal would not only be beneficial for a team seeking their first Premiership away victory in 10 outings from Tynecastle but would also be well-timed for the forward, with upcoming Scotland international matches against Croatia and Poland approaching. While this period may represent one of the most challenging phases of Shankland’s career at Hearts, his existing tally of 60 goals for the club demonstrates his consistent ability to perform. Similar to Hibs and United, Dundee is also seeking a victory following a challenging week that saw two defeats, bringing their total to six losses in seven matches. Attempting to break a streak of only one win in nine games might not be the most opportune moment for Tony Docherty to rekindle his competitive history with former colleague Derek McInnes. This comes as the Kilmarnock manager is once again being mentioned as a potential candidate for a return to Rangers, should the Ibrox club dismiss Philippe Clement. The two managers previously collaborated at Rugby Park and Aberdeen, and their opposing encounters over the last 18 months have often been eventful. Despite the close nature of their matches, including Kilmarnock’s dramatic three-goal comeback to secure a 3-2 win at Dens Park last month, Docherty has not yet achieved a victory over McInnes in six attempts. Halting Kilmarnock’s four-game unbeaten run at Dens – and their six-game unbeaten streak against Dundee overall – could provide the necessary boost for the Dark Blues. Dundee has lacked the influential creative presence of Luke McCowan since the midfielder’s transfer to Celtic in August. However, their struggles this season have often stemmed not from a failure to score, but rather from an inability to maintain leads. This issue was evident not only against Kilmarnock in early October but also in their weekend match against St Johnstone. The Ayrshire team, fresh from a significant away win against Hearts in midweek, is expected to pose another challenge for Docherty’s squad.