A great chance for Motherwell as Tony Watt latches on to a long ball and gets in behind the Hibs defence before firing into the side-netting.

Sloppy from Marc McNulty as United give the ball away inside their own half and soon after Kyle Lafferty thunders a shot against the crossbar from 25 yards.

Chris Cadden catches his shot well on the half-volley but cannot keep it down, the ball flashing over the left-hand corner of the Motherwell goal.

Aberdeen try to find a response and Ross McCrorie makes space for a 20-yard drive easily dealt with by Scott Bain.

At the other end, David Turnbull dances into the Dons box and his near-post effort is parried wide by Joe Lewis.

Image source, SNS

Martin Boyle, so prolific of late, heads Lewis Stevenson's cross wide as Hibernian mount their first meaningful attack. It was a tricky one for the forward to direct towards goal.

Tony Watt is not happy with referee Alan Muir. The Motherwell striker is clattered by Darren McGregor but the official allows play to continue as the visitors were in possession but nothing comes of it. The ball is soon out of play and Hibs have a goal kick when Watt wanted the free-kick.

Ash Taylor so close to the opener!

First, the big Aberdeen centre-back loops a header on to the bar from Niall McGinn's corner.

The visitors keep the ball alive and from another McGinn delivery, Taylor's thumping header is superbly tipped over by Scott Bain.

Dundee United are first to threaten at Rugby Park as Nicky Clark sets Lawrence Shankland free but the the striker's low drive slams into the side-netting.

Dylan Connolly races onto a fine though ball down the middle of the Ross County defence, but he snatches at his shot and fires over. An early warning from St Mirren.

A risky pass across the Hibs back four by Jackson Irvine is almost pounced upon by Jordan Roberts but he cannot get control of the ball on the bobbly surface.

Joe Newell also sacrifices possession moments later but wins it back with a fine challenge on Motherwell striker Tony Watt.

And away we go.

All but two sides got to 30 games last season before Covid-19 curtailed the season, so it's interesting to make a comparison with how things stand currently.

Rangers, idle this weekend, have obviously made huge strides. Steven Gerrard's unbeaten side are 15 points better off, having played a game more this time.

Hibs are also up 15 and St Mirren are up by seven.

Celtic are 16 points down on where they were last year but the biggest slump has been at Motherwell, who are 17 points worse off.

Aberdeen are three points better off, which comes as a surprise, given the negative headlines around the club of late.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says his side need to produce "big results" if they hope to overhaul Hibernian in third place.

"We have to finish the season strongly to achieve our objectives and make the post-split games relevant," McInnes tells BBC Sportsound.

"Hopefully today we can produce one of those big results. Of our last five league games at Celtic Park, we've drawn 0-0, lost 2-1 and 1-0, and won 1-0, so it's all very tight games.

"The other week here we lost 1-0 but deserved something from it. If it's tight today I hope we can be the other side of it this time."

Image source, SNS

Ross County manager John Hughes, whose side beat Celtic 1-0 last weekend, tells BBC Scotland: "Playing against Celtic is the easy bit, you've got nothing to lose. Today we have to have the same effort and commitment. I've seen massive improvements in my team. We need to keep that standard up.

"We've had enough results now to give us confidence and momentum."

Kenny Crawford
BBC Sport Scotland at Rugby Park

Ahead of this massive game for Kilmarnock, after a run of eight defeats, manager Tommy Wright has urged new striker Kyle Lafferty to help save the club’s season and earn a longer-term contract to end his “nomadic” existence.

Lafferty makes his first start for the Ayrshire side, and they are the 13th club he’s played for in his senior career.

Image source, SNS

Adam Montgomery, 18, has just signed a long-term deal with Celtic and is named on the bench this afternoon.

He looks pretty chuffed in that photo.