Scoring woes, Murray's quiet brilliance & pressure at Hibs

The titanic tussle between Celtic and Rangers on Saturday lunchtime will take up much of the Scottish Premiership's oxygen this weekend, but there is plenty of intrigue elsewhere.

Kilmarnock can wrap up fourth spot when they face St Mirren, while St Johnstone and Ross County continue to fight to avoid the relegation play-off.

Even Sunday's apparently meaningless game between Hibernian and Aberdeen has a lot riding on it for Hibs boss Nick Montgomery.

So, away from Celtic Park, here is what to look out for.

Game of the weekend: Livingston v St Johnstone

You could pick this one or County's home game against Motherwell given their equal significance in helping decide who ends in the play-off spot.

St Johnstone are the current occupiers after last week's defeat at Pittodrie left them two points adrift of County, with both sides holding an identical goal difference.

Saints are on a bleak run of just one win in seven games at just the wrong moment, and they, along with Saturday's opponents Livingston, are the lowest scorers in the league with a turgid 25 goals from 35 games.

It is a truly awful return and one that must have alarm bells ringing at McDiarmid Park. If they can't beat already-relegated Livingston, then hope of scraping to 10th will fade fast.

It is pivotal for Craig Levein and his team they do not welcome County to Perth on Wednesday any further behind.

Don't expect a classic, but the stakes couldn't be much higher for Saints.

Player to watch: Simon Murray (Ross County)

Murray is a striker who has been underrated for much of his career and this season is no different.

His strike against Hibs last week was his 19th in a stellar campaign and fifth in his last six Premiership games.

The 32-year-old is just one behind Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi on the league scoring charts, with his performances pivotal to County's excellent home form.

His work off the ball and ability to create (he has five assists this term) as well as score have allowed his team under Don Cowie to go six unbeaten in Dingwall, defeating Rangers, Hearts, and Hibs in the process.

County's talisman has already netted twice against Motherwell this season, too, so expect him to play a big part when the Steelman visit on Saturday.

Manager in the spotlight - Nick Montgomery (Hibs)

A scrap to finish seventh was not in the summer plans of Hibernian or Aberdeen yet that's what it has come to for this season's most glaring underachievers.

Both clubs have registered a mere 10 wins from 35 league matches, while three clubs with significantly less money to spend are mixing it in the top six.

The ire from the Pittodrie stands has been placated with new manager Jimmy Thelin on the way and the stand-in steering the team away from the wrong end of the table.

Under Peter Leven, the Dons are unbeaten in six league games, winning four of those. They have kept five clean sheets across that sequence, helping to erase bad memories of the short-lived Neil Warnock experiment.

Things are not nearly as settled at Easter Road.

Failure to reach the top half brought a rather vague statement from the board saying such an outcome was "unacceptable" and promising a "full review of the club's football structure".

The post-split fixtures began with an impressive dismantling of St Johnstone but that was immediately followed by defeat at Ross County, with the concession of yet another late goal.

The future of Montgomery is uncertain and the sight of the head coach applauding fans at full-time in Dingwall and receiving an angry earful in return made for extremely awkward viewing.

Hibs are unbeaten in their last five league meetings with Aberdeen and have not lost at home to Sunday's opponents since August 2020.

Will extending that record be enough to earn Montgomery more time or will the Edinburgh side soon be seeking a fifth manager since December 2021?