Scottish Football / John Girvan / 30 October 2009 /

After tough weekend last time out, John Girvan is backing Celtic, St Johnstone and Dundee United to improve his fortunes...

No point pretending - last weekend was a disaster! Hearts lack of fire power wiped out three points as well as the multiple they were part of. Celtic were on the verge of clawing some back when they went 2-0 up at Hamilton on Sunday. It was looking good for Celtic -1.5 goals and the clean sheet as well but a late consolation for the Accies completed a great weekend for the layers.

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray is confident his side will soon "click" despite the indifferent home form which has seen the league leaders win only twice in nine attempts this season. Four of these were European ties but on the back of Wednesday's 1-0 home defeat to Hearts, should Celtic really be a short as [1.25] to beat Kilmarnock on Saturday? Probably not.

That's not to say they won't take the three points but Killie will be no pushovers. Jim Jeffries men have lost just one of their last five and this included a 0-0 draw at home to Rangers. Lack of goals is a concern however and this is highlighted by the solitary goal they have from their four away ties this season.

Celtic actually played reasonably well in mid-week and on another night Georgios Samaras could have bagged at least a brace. The pressure is on slightly after Wednesday and this should ensure Celtic commence the game with urgency. Kevin Kyle is a threat but on the whole the visitors will find it difficult to score and this makes Celtic -1.5 goals worth backing at [1.82] in the Asian Handicap.

Many will fancy both Hibs[2.14] and St Mirren [2.04] in their respective home ties with Aberdeen and Hamilton. You can make a case for either but for me the most likely home win this weekend besides Celtic is St Johnstone.

Saints have lost four of their last five in the league but they have faced Hibs, Rangers and Dundee United in this time and managed revenge over United in midweek with a 2-1 League Cup quarter-final victory. It's more than opponents Falkirk have achieved this season. Last weeks 0-0 draw at Hearts, although respectable, was The Bairns fourth this season and these stalemates have been their only source of points.

Eddie Mays' side have managed to score only four times in nine games thus far, netting just once in the last six. Compare this to the McDiarmid Park outfit who despite only yielding two more points than Falkirk have managed 13 goals, scored in every match bar one and even notched a total of three in two matches against the Old Firm.

Rightly or wrongly this one will be billed as a six pointer. Derek McInnes led his side to victory in a similar clash at New Douglas Park recently. Here they have home advantage and an eye for goal so I see a similar outcome on Saturday. Back St Johnstone in the Match Odds at [2.18].

Rangers off-field problems have been well documented this week but they have problems on the park also and Dundee United could be about to make matters worse. The Gers have won just two of their last six in the league and will be without Pedro Mendes and Madjid Bougherra for Sunday's live Sky Sports clash at Tannadice.

Both were influential in the 3-0 win that clinched the league title here back in May. In many ways this was a one off clash though - there was a huge carrot dangled in front of Rangers that day and the side haven't played anywhere near as well since.

Craig Levein's men also go into this one with just two wins from their last six SPL ties but The Arabs have a great record at home to Rangers. They have restricted the current Champions to just one win and two draws from the five encounters previous to the meeting in May. The way both the Match Odds and Asian Handicap Markets are priced up, it makes sense to side with the hosts.

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