Scottish Football / John Girvan / 02 January 2009 / Leave a comment

John Girvan looks forward to a weekend of SPL action including the first of a mouth-watering Edinburgh derby double header and a prime opportunity for Aberdeen to make some headway in the race for third place.

The first SPL action of 2009 takes place at Tynecastle on Saturday where Hearts face Hibernian in the second Edinburgh derby of the season.

This one is live on Setanta so it's a lunch time kick-off and both sides will be looking to bounce back from last week's defeats with Hearts losing an ill-tempered affair at Pittodrie and Hibernian going down at home to Killie. This match is also the first of a mouth-watering double header with the sides set to face each other next weekend in the fourth round of The Homecoming Scottish Cup.

Hearts narrow 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen last weekend signalled the end of a fine run of five wins and two draws which included a home victory over Rangers and a point at Celtic Park. The season long home form is good also so it's understandable to see Hearts as favourites in the Match Odds at [2.04] with Hibernian [4.0] outsiders and the draw trading at [3.5].

Hibs are a figure of inconsistency this season and last weekend's home defeat to 10-man Kilmarnock typified this with Mixu Paatelainen describing the performance as "very slack". Hearts, on the other hand, are beginning to show consistency and look well placed to earn their seventh home win of the season.

I expect a home win therefore but the unpredictable nature of a derby could make Hearts -0&-0.5 in the Asian Handicap a smarter selection at odds of [1.8]. This pays out at [1.8] for a Hearts victory with the safety net of half your stake back in the event of a draw.

Aberdeen are in great form at present and at first glance look good value at [2.18] to take three points from their visit to New Douglas Park this weekend. The Dons away form is decent with four wins and two draws in seven away ties against sides outside the Old Firm. Last week's home win over Hearts looks like making it a three way tussle for third place also and, with Dundee United at Celtic Park this weekend, Saturday represents a real opportunity for Jimmy Calderwood's men.

Hamilton are improving however, particularly at home, with two wins and a draw in their last four. Celtic needed a late winner to take all three points here recently and The Accies' have conceded just seven goals in seven home ties against sides outside the Old Firm. The hosts are locked at the bottom of the table but share the same points total as both Falkirk and Inverness. The home form will be the key if Hamilton are to survive but the recent form suggests they are capable and the draw sticks out here at [3.4].

Gordon Strachan said that victory at Ibrox would have no bearing on the championship but Celtic now trade at [1.32] to make it four league wins on the trot whilst Rangers languish at [3.95]. Celtic are in a strong position but with 18 games still to play, including two Old Firm meetings, there is still room for some trading given that the top two have shown a three season average of dropping points once every four games.

The good news for Rangers supporters this weekend is that Celtic face a side unbeaten in three previous encounters with the Old Firm this season but can Dundee United carry on that fine form?

Craig Levein's men are unbeaten in their last six with three wins and three draws against some tough opposition so they travel to Celtic Park with confidence and in the knowledge Hearts managed a draw here three weeks ago. Celtic's Old Firm victory at Ibrox gives them a huge lift however and another three points on Saturday sends Rangers to Inverness the following day ten points behind in the title race.

The visitors have a reasonably good recent record at this venue with one draw achieved in each of the last three seasons. The sides played out a 1-1 draw at Tannadice earlier in the season of course and yet another draw is priced up in the Match Odds at [5.1].

With Dundee United a massive [10.0] in this market the hosts find themselves a short but reasonable [1.41]. I expect Celtic's win margin to be narrow however and that makes Dundee United +1.5 goals appealing at [1.78].

Rangers will most probably take to the field in Inverness a mammoth ten points behind bitter rivals Celtic. The title race is far from over but only as long as Rangers can go on the kind of run that Celtic put together during the first half of the season where they won 12 games in succession.

Whether or not Rangers can in fact do this remains to be seen but winning on Sunday in the live Setanta clash is an immediate priority.

Provincial clubs usually have nothing to lose when facing one of the Old Firm as no-one expects them to win but things are slightly different for Inverness on this occasion. They are joint bottom of the league and the club's supporters trust has called a January meeting over their concerns about the performance of manager Craig Brewster.

So the pressure is on for Caley' and this too is a big game for the hosts.

Clashes against other sides in the bottom half of the table are more important for Inverness than the visit of Rangers on Sunday and the visitors reaction to last weekend could be the deciding factor here. Rangers have been quiet since the Old Firm defeat but you can guarantee that behind the scenes Walter Smith and Ally McCoist will be making sure we see an improvement this weekend.

Five straight defeats for Inverness and it's looking ominous when the visitors are a wounded side desperate not to drift further away from Celtic. Rangers look decent value in the Match Odds at [1.42] and since I expect both halves of the Old Firm to pick up maximum points this weekend the multiple might be worth backing at [1.9] or greater.