#scottish-premiership

#scottish-premiership

Starting with the hosts, while Dundee FC might have found themselves at the heart of a shock three-match winning run on either side of opening the New Year, Steven Pressley's side are still firmly scrapping it out in the bottom-half of the Premiership table. Once again showing some glaring inconsistencies over the past month, the Dark Blues have recorded just a single point from their previous three Premiership appearances.

Hibernian have added tenacity and "pedigree" to their squad by signing wing-back Felix Passlack from Bochum on a deal until the summer of 2029, says head coach David Gray. The 27-year-old has arrived for an undisclosed fee and made 67 Bochum appearances after joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2023. His previous clubs include Hoffenheim, Norwich City and Fortuna Sittard, all loan spells from Dortmund.

When Martin O'Neill replaced Brendan Rodgers in October, the Celtic ship was listing. When he returned for a second interim spell after Wilfried Nancy's tumultuous and brief reign, the ship was taking on water at an alarming rate. Celtic have needed a safe pair of hands and a figurehead to unite a fanbase in revolt twice this season. On both occasions they have turned to O'Neill to save them.

Well, based on points-per-game averages, leaders Heart of Midlothian are currently projected to finish the campaign on a total of 86 points. That potential haul is lower than each of the five previous champions - and 10 fewer than the title-winning average of 96 across those five seasons. In fact, the 2.27 points-per-game average that Derek McInnes' men are posting at present is lower than the last seven winners, including Celtic's title win in the Covid-curtailed 2019-20 campaign and the triumph that came a year prior.

SNS Livingston will contact the Scottish FA to report Aberdeen over an alleged racial comment made to striker Jeremy Bokila. Following Livingston's 6-2 defeat by Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday, manager David Martindale said 37-year-old Bokila was in tears in the changing room after a comment made to him on the pitch. It is understood the alleged comment was of a racial nature and came amid a second-half melee that resulted in Bokila being sent off.

Celtic will face Dundee, and holders Aberdeen welcome Motherwell, in the only two all-Premiership ties in the last 16 of this season's Scottish Cup.

Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin faces up to eight weeks out with a lower leg injury. The Australia international, 27, sustained the injury during Tuesday's 2-0 home win over St Mirren at Tynecastle, coming off in added time. Devlin has made 27 appearances for the Scottish Premiership leaders this season, scoring once. Capped four times for his country, the former Wellington Phoenix player is out of contract at the end of the season.

Another pivotal weekend of action in the Scottish Premiership awaits, with permutations at the top and bottom of the division. On Saturday, Celtic host Dundee United in their first match since Wilfried Nancy's sacking, in-form Hibernian take on high-flying Motherwell, the league's bottom two sides go head-to-head as Livingston face Kilmarnock, while St Mirren welcome Falkirk to Paisley. League-leaders Hearts go to Dundee on Sunday, before Aberdeen and Rangers meet for the second time in six days.

I'm not pumping my own tyres up here. It's going to be real hard work in terms of what we're going to try and achieve. It's all about players, completely about the players in terms of what they do on the pitch. We can affect that by information. But when it boils down to it, for this group I just feel it's getting that first win. If we get our first win, I think we'll catch fire.

He, like all Hearts' signings, went through Jamestown Analytics' assessment and passed the test. "If he had rated poorly, we wouldn't have signed him. It just wouldn't have got over the line," McInnes said of Findlay on Open Goal, external in October. "He's a brilliant boy in terms of being a brilliant team-mate. He allows you to play with that high line, gives you that left-sided balance."

Image source, SNS Kilmarnock have appointed Neil McCann as their new manager, with Billy Dodds joining as assistant. McCann replaces Stuart Kettlewell, who was sacked after six wins in 25 games. Under-19s coach Kris Doolan oversaw Killie's past four games, taking one point. Dodds and McCann previously worked together as part of Barry Ferguson's interim management team at Rangers last season.

"You have two stories today," Rangers boss Danny Rohl told BBC Scotland following the statement win. "One, we can turn things in one half to come back 3-1 and win this game. The second story, we have a centre-forward in Youssef who scores fantastic goals."