Scottish Premiership picks: Your guide to this weekend's top-flight action
- Published
The Scottish Premiership returns after a two-week hiatus and with Celtic, Rangers and Heart of Midlothian each having experienced a couple of testing European ties in the meantime.
Second-top Rangers are left licking their wounds from two hefty defeats on the back of their Old Firm derby drubbing, leaders Celtic were somewhat brought back down to earth by a defeat and draw, while Hearts recovered from a home humbling by Istanbul Basaksehir to beat Latvians RFS.
Here, BBC Scotland highlights some of the games and names to watch over Saturday's four games and two on Sunday.
Game of the weekend: Hibernian v Aberdeen
Although five places separate hosts Hibernian and third-top Aberdeen, at this early stage of the season there's only a two-point gap.
Last season, both sides underperformed by finishing in the Scottish Premiership's bottom half, but they and their fans will have ambitions to displace Heart of Midlothian as the third best team in the country behind Celtic and Rangers.
To do so, this is the kind of game they must start winning.
Hibs have head coach Lee Johnson back in the dugout following his recent surgery and can record back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Aberdeen are unbeaten in four matches in all competitions and have one of the season's form players in striker Bojan Miovsky.
Hibs have only suffered one defeat - by Championship side Greenock Morton - in their latest 11 home games, drawing six of them, while the Dons have lost just once - to Celtic - in their six trips out of Pittodrie this season.
So a repeat of May's 1-1 stalemate between the sides at Easter Road would be no surprise.
Player to watch: Robert Snodgrass
Robert Snodgrass looks happy to back in Scotland as he awaits his Hearts debut
Last weekend's postponements as a result of the passing of the Queen mean a few late summer transfer arrivals have had a longer than expected wait for their debuts with their new clubs.
Mykola Kukharevych has finally touched down at Hibs from French club Troyes, the 21-year-old having been training with his previous loan destination, Leuven's youth team in Belgium, while awaiting the appropriate paperwork to be completed.
As the Ukrainian forward acclimatises to yet another country, Louis Moult has returned to familiar territory for his loan from Burton Albion.
The 30-year-old striker scored 50 goals in 98 Motherwell appearances between summer 2015 and late 2017, but he has netted just nine goals since and made only four substitute appearances this season for the League One strugglers, whom he joined after also falling out of favour at Preston North End.
While the Englishman will need to recapture some of his Fir Park magic to dislodge in-form Dutchman Kevin van Veen, Saturday's opponents will be desperate to get their latest additions up and running considering their recent spate of injuries.
Orestis Kiomourtzoglou has been granted a work permit after the 24-year-old German midfielder's move from Heracles Almelo.
Robert Snodgrass also had the added frustration of missing out on Hearts' Europa Conference League squad deadline as he looks to play his first competitive game since starting for Luton Town in their Championship promotion play-off defeat by Huddersfield Town in May.
The 35-year-old winger hasn't played domestically in his homeland since leaving Livingston for Leeds United in 2008 and has gathered a wealth of experience since for Norwich City, Hull City, West Ham United, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion before moving to Luton on a short-term deal in February.
With Motherwell and Hearts separated by goal difference in a three-way tie on points for the best of the rest role behind the Old Firm, the 28-times capped Scot could have a vital role as Robbie Neilson's side look to end a disappointing run of league form on the back of Thursday's Conference League win in Riga.
Manager spotlight: Giovanni van Bronckhorst/Liam Fox
Two managers under pressure for differing reasons collide at Ibrox as Rangers entertain Dundee United.
Having started last season with plenty of optimism after his side lifted the Scottish Cup and reached the Europa League final, Giovanni van Bronckhorst is looking to prevent Rangers suffering a fourth straight defeat for the first time since 1985 - and go four without scoring for the first time since 1994.
It is not just the defeats but the manner of them that have been so damaging for the Dutchman - successive 4-0 humblings by city rivals Celtic in the Premiership and Ajax in the Champions League were followed by Wednesday's 3-0 home loss to Napoli.
In the visiting dugout at Ibrox, Liam Fox will continue his quest to become United's permanent head coach after steering his side to a League Cup win and a Premiership draw since being appointed caretaker following the sacking of Jack Ross.
United remain bottom of the table, the only side without a win in the top flight this season, are the lowest scorers having failed to find the net in three Premiership games in a row and haven't won at Ibrox in the league for 11 years.
Securing a first league win of the season, possibly even a draw, could all but seal the job the 38-year-old former Livingston midfielder and Cowdenbeath manager so desires.
In normal times, Fox would prefer to be going anywhere else than Ibrox, where Rangers had gone 10 games without defeat until Napoli's arrival and where only Celtic have won in the past 41 league games. These, however, are not normal times for the Glasgow club.