Advertisement

Edinburgh derby, Buddies duo & Kettlewell in focus

The Scottish Premiership trophy
[SNS]

Derbies, managers under pressure and players eager to make their mark - it's another Scottish Premiership weekend.

Here are some names and games to look out for.

Game of the weekend - Hibernian v Hearts (Sun, 12:00)

Scottish football has had to wait until late October for the first Edinburgh derby of the season and, as ever, there's a lot going on in the capital.

Hibernian replaced Heart of Midlothian as the Premiership's bottom side last weekend after a lead away to Dundee United turned into a late defeat.

Meanwhile, back in Edinburgh, Hearts were recording their first league win of the season in Neil Critchley's first match in charge.

They followed that up with a solid midweek Conference League win over Omonia Nicosia - making it two wins out of two in that competition for the Tynecastle side.

Critchley could further endear himself to supporters and put some daylight between Hearts and their city rivals with victory at Easter Road.

In the opposing dugout, Hibs head coach David Gray is aiming to avoid a fourth straight defeat. His side have been on target in two of those games, but keeping clean sheets is becoming more and more elusive.

A fascinating contest awaits.

Players to watch - St Mirren strike duo

Also looking to avoid four losses on the bounce are St Mirren.

Finding the net has been a struggle for the Paisley side in recent weeks but Mikael Mandron has recent form against Sunday's hosts Rangers, netting in a 2-1 loss in April.

However, it is not just with goals that Mandron and team-mate Kevin van Veen may prove important for the Buddies.

Kilmarnock's Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins had a lot of joy against Rangers' defenders in Sunday's 1-0 win at Rugby Park, with Watkins scoring the late winner.

The physical approach of both forwards gave Killie a foothold in the match and restricted Rangers.

Mandron and Van Veen could offer a similar service for St Mirren.

Manager watch - Stuart Kettlewell (Motherwell)

Flying relatively under the radar this season have been Motherwell.

Competent and consistent displays have kept Stuart Kettlewell's side comfortably inside the top six.

Last weekend's home loss to Dundee was therefore somewhat surprising and Kettlewell is now preparing for the visit of champions Celtic, who got a very creditable 0-0 Champions League draw with Atalanta on Tuesday.

Motherwell got a valuable point at Celtic Park last season but were denied by late goals in both encounters at Sunday's venue, Fir Park.

Any kind of positive result for Well could help to hold off any advance of Dundee and Kilmarnock, both sides playing on Saturday.