Scottish Premiership Picks: Fourth v fifth, no problems for Naismith & Livi look to Yengi

The Scottish Premiership title race resumes after the shock of both Rangers and Celtic losing on the same weekend for the first time since February 2018.

Leaders Rangers, having tumbled out of Europe to Benfica on Thursday night, look to bounce back when they visit Dundee on Sunday, while Celtic have the opportunity to regain top spot at home to St Johnstone the day before.

We have a fourth against fifth fight in Ayrshire and Motherwell are looking to make it three wins in a row at home to Aberdeen, who are sinking nearer the dreaded play-off spot.

Here are some of the things to look out for...

Game of the week - Kilmarnock v St Mirren

This is a biggie in the race for fourth place and a crack at Europa Conference League qualifying next term.

Just one point separates the sides, while Kilmarnock have had the recent upper hand in this fixture, although the margins are slim.

The Rugby Park side are unbeaten in six league meetings with the men from Paisley, but only two of those have been victories.

Since back-to-back 3-3 thrillers in 2021, one in the Scottish Cup which St Mirren edged on penalties, goals have been hard to come by.

In the past five contests, Kilmarnock have only conceded once, while scoring four.

Derek McInnes' side were second best in their cup exit to Aberdeen last weekend but have reserved most of their best displays for home, where they have amassed 28 of their 41 points.

St Mirren have taken seven points from three games since a surprise loss at Livingston without really hitting their early-season heights.

With the three teams above these two in the table all in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, the chances are very good that fifth will offer up Europe, an arena where St Mirren last played in 1987 and Killie have been just twice this century.

Both teams are well organised by canny managers and anything other than a tight, tense affair would be a surprise.

Player to watch - Tete Yengi (Livingston)

Can Tete Yengi find the goals Livingston need in their fight for top-flight survival?

Livingston have suffered some painful setbacks in recent weeks as time runs out in their bid to beat the drop.

Having come back from 2-0 down, David Martindale's side conceded a stoppage-time winner to nearest rivals Ross County. An early lead was tamely squandered at home to Motherwell, then St Johnstone found a late leveller in the ugliest of games in Perth.

You can add County's controversial 98th-minute equaliser against Hibs on Wednesday to that list since it leaves Livi seven points adrift.

They have mustered just one away win in the Premiership - at Hibs in August. Now they return to Easter Road in desperate need of something positive, while victory is imperative for the hosts' hopes of a top-six finish.

With six goals in 10 games, Tete Yengi looks the best bet to spearhead any great escape from relegation.

The 6ft 4in striker is a real handful and cracked home a beautiful finish in a spirited cup loss to Celtic. Now he's up against a fragile Hibs defence that has kept one clean sheet in 12 league outings since beating Livingston in early December.

Manager in focus - Steven Naismith (Hearts)

With 55 points in the bag, Hearts have their healthiest total at this stage since 2015-16 when they finished well clear in third place.

Thirteen points in front of their nearest challengers, they are on course to comfortably repeat the trick and have reached the last four in the Scottish Cup.

Steven Naismith's first full season in charge got off to a stuttering start, with strange job titles, a tame European exit and the Edinburgh club seventh after 10 Premiership games.

On his last league outing, the 37-year-old former Scotland forward completed a double over champions Celtic, while a shellacking at Ibrox has been Hearts' only defeat in 16 games in all competitions.

Naismith takes his in-form side to Dingwall on Saturday looking to extend a 14-match unbeaten sequence against Ross County, their longest run without defeat against any opponent in the top flight this century.

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