Kheredine Idessane
BBC Scotland at Rugby Park

Good-sized crowd inside Rugby Park, with the home fans literally and metaphorically banging the drum for Killie.

Well might they be satisfied with life at the moment, sitting nicely in fourth place after a cracking start to the season.

There is a tiny smattering of Livi fans in the away stand to my left. They're here more in hope than expectation.

But in football, you just never know...

Kilmarnock have dominated possession in the opening exchanges at Rugby Park but are yet to carve out a clear-cut chance.

Livingston are sitting deep, looking to make things as tricky as possible for the hosts.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Scotland: "These things happen, you can't pre-empt traffic. We came to an agreement that is fair for both parties.

"We had a terrific performance in the last game but we need consistency, we need to follow up the performance on Saturday or else it goes to waste.

"We did the simple things well, played a brilliant brand of football and we have to reproduce that against Dundee."

Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery tells BBC Sportsound he had "no doubts" about bringing Lewis Miller and Martin Boyle back into the starting line-up.

"You want your best players available and it's great to have them both back," he said.

"Tonight is a good opportunity against a top quality opposition. First half, Celtic should have been out of sight [against Aberdeen], so I don't think frail is a word you can use about them.

"A win is what we would love to have tonight in front of our home fans. It's been a frustrating couple of weeks that I can't control.

"But there are no excuses and tonight a result against a top team would be amazing."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland at McDiarmid Park

A very lively start for the visitors in Perth, Alex Cochrane and Alan Forrest are looking very much in the mood down the left-hand side.

St Johnstone have spent most of the opening exchanges penned back in their own half.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty tells BBC Scotland: "We left the hotel and we had been stuck in traffic for an hour and a half.

"I think there was a crash. It's happened before, it'll happen again. It happened to Rangers earlier in the season. I spoke to [Stephen Robinson], we agreed a time.

"The level of performance against Hearts was fantastic and it's been consistently good. Hopefully we can convert that into points tonight."

An early chance for Hearts as Alex Cochrane nearly picks out Lawrence Shankland for a tap in, but Andy Considine intercepts.

Is Nick Montgomery the Premiership's most under pressure manager?

Losing 3-0 at home to St Mirren after a clutch of new signings hasn't helped the Easter Road boss' cause.

His record stands at seven wins and eight draws out of 22 in all competitions.

The prospect of Celtic coming to Leith is unlikely to be one that supporters will savour.

Montgomery said after the loss to St Mirren his team lacked "fight". The players need to show their manager something, and soon.

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Scotland at Rugby Park

There were already unconfirmed reports of Derek Adams' resignation when I spoke to the Livingston boss David Martindale pre-match here in Kilmarnock.

With County now managerless, and still only six points clear of the Lions, Martindale knows a win could change their season, especially as they'll play County in Dingwall before the month is out.

The problem is, Kilmarnock have only lost once in their last 10 matches, seem like safe bets for the top six and have what Martindale calls "an embarrassment" of attacking options.

Livi, remember, are trying to avoid a 17th straight league match without a win.

We're under way in Ayrshire and Perth.

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein tells BBC Scotland: "David Kjeltens felt his hamstring a bit up at Ross County so we want to give him time to make sure he's fit for Sunday, which I think he will be.

"Oludare Olufunwa comes in. He's been doing well in training and played at Ibrox and Livingston and hasn't let us down. So he gets an opportunity.

"We're playing a very in-form Hearts team, perhaps the most in-form in the country. We've got to be careful and defend as well as we have been.

"And we need to play better than we have been. I've been a bit disappointed with how we've been with the ball since the winter break so I'm looking for improvement on that tonight."

Hearts manager Steven Naismith tells BBC Scotland: "It's a three-game week so it's the norm to change personnel when we've got a busy schedule.

"We know it'll be a tough game. St Johnstone's form since Craig Levein and Andy Kirk have come in has been good. But we need to put what we've been working on this week into practice.

"A player won't last long in this squad if they have the attitude [that third place is secure]. It's not something we speak about.

"Each game we go into we want to win. And the aim is third place, but even if that gets done then the season is about getting as many points as possible.

"We've got a very competitive squad so if you're not at it, you won't be playing and someone will take your place."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland at McDiarmid Park

Image source, SNS

Tenth-placed St Johnstone may be at the wrong of the end of the Premiership, but they will be hoping their win over struggling Ross County last time out can be a springboard.

On paper this is a very tough assignment, but Saints have plenty of motivation. A win this evening would see them jump at least a couple of places up the table.

For third-placed Hearts, they will simply be looking to continue their impressive recent form.

They travel to McDiarmid Park looking to extend their eight-game unbeaten league run, a sequence that includes seven wins.

They will also be aiming to continue their impressive scoring form too, having banged in 12 goals in their last five Premiership games.

One way or another, this certainly has all the ingredients of being an intriguing 90 minutes.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers tells BBC Sportsound he is "just freshening things up".

"The guys that we have brought in, we trust," he says. "Nicolas [Kuhn] has taken a wee bit of time to get up to speed with how we work, while Adam [Idah] is game ready having been involved with Norwich.

"He's shown moments of quality and it's nice for him to come in. We have a bench to impact the game if we need it."

On Rangers moving level on points, Rodgers added: "The mindset has not changed".

"Whether it's 10 points, 20 points or level on points, as a Celtic player there is a demand to win every game, so nothing changes.

"If we win tonight, we don't win the league, we lose tonight, we don't lose the league. The biggest thing for us is the consistency. We have dropped too many points, more points than I would have expected."

The Celtic boss emphasised there has been "absolutely no change whatsoever in terms of how the players have been asked to play" this season.

"Where there has been change is the level of player, that's the reality," he adds.

St Mirren are unchanged from the side that beat Hibernian 3-0 at Easter Road at the weekend.

Keanu Baccus is on the bench after returning from international duty with Australia.

There's just the one change for Dundee - and it's a familiar face who will lead the line for tonight's visitors.

Curtis Main - who only left Paisley last summer - replaces Amadou Bakayoko up front.

The Sierra Leone striker has to make do with a place on the bench, alongside Ryan Astley - the former Everton defender who is yet to play after signing in January.

Image source, SNS

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Will Brendan Rodgers finally get his first win at Easter Road?

The Celtic boss has made the trip four times across his two spells in charge, with two draws and two defeats in the league.

His side face a beleaguered Hibs who are without a league win in six outings and have conceded 10 goals in their last four.

They were all at sea in a miserable 3-0 home defeat to St Mirren on Saturday, amid a torrent of boos from disgruntled fans.

With Rangers nipping at their heels, Celtic will surely be pumped for this one, so Hibs will need to find a huge improvement.

Derek McInnes makes two changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Motherwell last time out.

Liam Donnelly replaces Liam Polworth in midfield, while Greg Stewart comes in for Matty Kennedy on the left.

Kevin van Veen is on the bench.

For Livingston, David Martindale makes four changes from the 3-0 defeat at Ibrox.

Mo Sangare, James Penrice, Andrew Shinnie and Joel Nouble all drop out, with Michael Nottingham, Daniel Mackay, Steven Bradley and Tete Yengi in from the start.

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Oludare Olufunwa for David Kjeltens is the only St Johnstone change from the win at Ross County.

Midfielder Scott Fraser makes his first start for Hearts since his January loan move from Charlton.

That's one of three changes from the win over Dundee. Stephen Kingsley has recovered from illness and Kenneth Vargas also starts.

Out go Toby Sibbick, Jorge Grant and Yutaro Oda. Cammy Devlin is back on the bench after two months out.

St Mirren against Dundee in Paisley will now kick off at 20:15.

We understand the Dundee bus was late in arriving due to traffic issues.

Four changes apiece in the capital.

An under-pressure Nick Montgomery will no doubt be delighted to call upon Lewis Miller and Martin Boyle's services again as they return from international duty.

Nathan Moriah-Welsh was one of the few bright sparks in Saturday's abject defeat to St Mirren - the 21-year-old is in for his first start in midfield. Dylan Vente is also in.

Brendan Rodgers has made an eyebrow-raising call, dropping Kyogo Furuhashi while Adam Idah makes his first start, as does Nicolas Kuhn.

Daizen Maeda is back in after returning from international duty, while Stephen Welsh partners Liam Scales in defence.

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