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Saturday 13th February
12:30 Aberdeen vs Celtic

Celtic travel to Aberdeen aiming to keep up the pressure on Rangers at the top of the SPL.

The Bhoys closed the gap on Rangers in midweek and Tony Mowbray will be looking for another maximum haul from their trip to Pittodrie.

Glenn Loovens is a doubt for Celtic' after the Dutch defender came off with a hamstring injury during the 2-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead on Wednesday night.

Andreas Hinkel (thigh), Jos Hooiveld (hamstring), Darren O'Dea (hamstring), and Shaun Maloney (heel) remain sidelined for Mowbray's troops.

Marc-Antoine Fortune and Robbie Keane are set to continue in attack with Diomansy Kamara playing out wide.

Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee has no fresh injury concerns to deal with amidst reports he rest some players with Tuesday's Scottish Cup fifth-round replay against Raith in mind.

Midfielder Peter Pawlett remains sidelined with a knee injury that was due to be assessed by a specialist this week, while Andrew Considine (hip) is a long-term absentee.

15:00 Hamilton vs Motherwell
Hamilton will hope to build on their midweek triumph at Dundee United as they welcome Motherwell to New Douglas Park.

Accies grabbed a surprise 2-0 win at Tannadice on Wednesday to aid their improving survival hopes courtesy of a goal each from twins Flavio and Marco Paixao.

Motherwell also head into the meeting on the back of a morale boosting result after holding champions Rangers to a 1-1 draw on the same night.

Hamilton captain Alex Neil and fellow midfielder James Wesolowski remain doubtful for the SPL game.

Both are still recovering from hamstring problems, with Wesolowski a late withdrawal from the team that won at Dundee United on Wednesday after looking set to make his comeback.

Mark McLaughlin returns from a two-match suspension while Mickael Antoine-Curier (knee) remains on the sidelines.

Motherwell midfielder Giles Coke returns from suspension for the clash but Marc Fitzpatrick will remain out for four to eight weeks after tearing his hamstring against Accies last weekend.

Shaun Hutchinson also stays on the sidelines with his hamstring problem.

15:00 Hearts vs Falkirk
Hearts will be looking to spoil Steven Pressley's big day on Saturday, when he takes Falkirk to Tynecastle.

The Jambos have wobbled badly of late, slipping to three consecutive defeats, and need to get their season back on track.

The Bairns continue to occupy bottom spot in the SPL table, three points adrift of safety, with the drastic situation seeing Eddie May hand in his resignation on Thursday and Pressley awarded his first managerial post.

Hearts' injury problems may force manager Jim Jefferies to rush back some of his returning stars ahead of schedule.

The current crisis shows little sign of abating, though right-back Jason Thomson (knee) will be given every chance to prove his fitness.

Andrew Driver, Ruben Palazuelos, Scott Robinson, Craig Thomson, Johnny Stewart (all knee), Ismael Bouzid, Laryea Kingston (both hamstring), Arvydas Novikovas, Jamie MacDonald (both ankle) and David Templeton (foot) all remain sidelined.

Vitor Lima is a major doubt for Pressley's first match in charge of Falkirk after limping off during Wednesday's demoralising defeat to Kilmarnock.

Tam Scobbie is still short of match fitness following his lay-off with a pelvic problem and is unlikely to face Hearts.

Pedro Pele remains on the long-term absentee list as he recovers from Achilles surgery.

15:00 Kilmarnock vs St Johnstone
Kilmarnock and St Johnstone have hit form of late and will want to pull further clear of trouble on Saturday.

Killie are now unbeaten in four, winning their last two, and have edged five points clear of the drop zone.

Saints are two points better off than their weekend opponents and have suffered only one defeat in their last six outings.

Kilmarnock will be without Manuel Pascali after he picked up a leg knock in the midweek victory over Falkirk.

It is unclear how long the Italian will be sidelined for as the severity of the injury is still being assessed.

Graham Gartland returns from suspension for St Johnstone's trip to Rugby Park.

Kevin Moon (hamstring) is out while Filipe Morais (calf) and Kenny Deuchar (back) are doubts

Stuart McCaffrey remains on the sidelines following groin surgery while it is still too soon for fit-again Kevin Rutkiewicz, who is back in training after recovering from a knee injury.

15:00 St Mirren vs Dundee Utd
Dundee United will be keen to bounce back from their shock SPL defeat to Hamilton at St Mirren.

The Terrors lost ground on third-placed Hibs in midweek while The Buddies held St Johnstone to a 1-1 draw.

Steven Thomson is likely to slot back into St Mirren's starting XI after serving his one-match suspension against St Johnstone.

Former United midfielder Stephen O'Donnell is the most likely player to drop out, although a change of formation could see more chopping and changing in the side.

Graham Carey impressed after making his debut during the week and could be in line for his first start, supplying ammunition for the physical strikeforce of Billy Mehmet and Michael Higdon.

Saints have a number of former Tannadice favourites in their squad apart from O'Donnell, with Paul Gallacher, Chris Innes, Lee Mair and Steven Robb all looking to impress against their former club if they get the chance.

Injury wise, Chris Smith and Tom Brighton are still the only men missing, meaning manager Gus MacPherson has plenty of players to choose from.

Defender Garry Kenneth could miss United's to St Mirren as he is nursing a knee injury, sustained against Hamilton in midweek, and is unlikely to recover in time.

United are also without Paul Dixon (ankle), Andy Webster (calf) and Mihael Kovacevic (nose), so new signing Pavels Mihadjuks will again play in a patched-up defence.

Francisco Sandaza (groin), Lee Wilkie (knee), Danny Cadamarteri (calf) and Scott Robertson (groin) are also ruled out.

Sunday 14th February
13:30 Rangers vs Hibernian

Rangers will aim to preserve their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League as they host Hibernian on Sunday.

Walter Smith's men had their lead cut to eight points after their midweek draw with Motherwell while Celtic won at home to Hearts.

With the Bhoys playing their weekend fixture on Saturday this time around, the Gers' lead could yet be slashed further ahead of Hibs' visit.

Smith has a full squad to choose from after the Ibrox boss had been forced to deal with injury problems for several weeks, but he now has all his key players back in action.

DaMarcus Beasley was sidelined for the midweek draw at Fir Park but has now recovered from a thigh injury and could be in the squad for Sunday's game.

Hibernian look set to have no injury concerns for their visit to Glasgow and his side will be buoyed by Wednesday's comeback from two goals down against Aberdeen.

Manager John Hughes revealed on Friday that he expected "one or two knocks" from the 2-2 draw with the Dons to be shaken off in time for the trip to Ibrox.

But Hughes must decide whether to stick with the starting XI that fell 2-0 behind at Easter Road.
 
Aberdeen 4-4 Celtic

Aberdeen striker Stevie Maclean fired a second-half brace to deny 10-man Celtic a much-needed win in a 4-4 thriller at Pittodrie.

Second-half goals from Robbie Keane and Aiden McGeady looked to have guided Celtic to a victory that would significantly cut Rangers' lead at the top of the league, but Maclean led a fightback to ensure the points were shared.

Tony Mowbray's men raced into a third minute lead through on-loan striker Diomansy Kamara, only for the home side to equalise seven minutes later through an excellent Michael Paton volley.

The Hoops restored their lead after 36 minutes with a close-range Marc-Antoine Fortune strike, but the Dons battled back again when Darren Mackie volleyed home a Jim Paterson cross.

Keane gave Celtic the advantage for a third time with a glancing header after 65 minutes and McGeady looked to have secured three points with a curling effort.

However, Edson Braafheid handled unnecessarily in the area and Maclean gave the Dons hope by converting the spot-kick.

With three minutes left Maclean diverted Mackie's wayward shot home past Artur Boruc following a Paton corner to earn a share of the spoils. Darren O'Dea was dismissed in added time to compound Celtic's misery.
 
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SPL round-up

Hearts heaped more woe on rock-bottom Falkirk in the SPL after coming away 3-2 winners at Tynecastle.

The Bairns had gone in on level terms at the break after Dawid Kucharski scored an own goal on the stroke of half-time, cancelling out Lee Wallace's early effort for Hearts.

However, the home side began to turn the screw in the second period and claimed the three points thanks to goals from Suso Santana and Ian Black, although Pedro Monteiro pulled one back with seven minutes remaining.

Falkirk are now four points from safety at the wrong end of the table, with just 17 points from 24 games so far this season.

Their nearest rivals Hamilton picked up a point at home after a 0-0 draw with fifth place Motherwell in a close Lanarkshire derby.

The Accies had previously suffered three straight defeats and will be delighted to have earned a hard-fought draw to give them some breathing space at the bottom.

Kilmarnock and St Johnstone played out a five-goal thriller at Rugby Park, with Killie coming out on top in a 3-2 win.

The Saints will be kicking themselves after going ahead twice with goals from Peter MacDonald and Graham Gartland, but they could not keep out their opponents.

Chris Maguire, Garry Hay and Kevin Kyle scored for the home side who go within two points of the visitors.

Meanwhile, Dundee United produced an excellent comeback to beat St Mirren 2-1 away from home.

Michael Higdon put the home side in front on 66 minutes at St Mirren Park before Danny Swanson and substitute David Goodwillie secured three points for the Terrors late on.

Following Celtic's dramatic 4-4 draw against Aberdeen in the early kick-off on Saturday, rivals Rangers now have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table against Hibernian.

The Gers take on Hibs at Ibrox on Sunday in the knowledge that they can once again go 10 points clear of the Hoops with a win.
 
will be a good game the morra at ibrox

is it on tv? think hibs could sneak it!

Cheers
MFCGAVMFC
 
Rangers 3-0 Hibernian

Rangers stretched their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to 10 points after victory over Hibernian.

The third-top side went close when Sasa Papac cleared a Paul Hanlon header off the reigning champions' goal-line.

But former Hibs defender Steven Whittaker sent a superb drive into the far corner of the net after 49 minutes.

Kris Boyd made the points safe from the penalty spot 20 minutes later after Sol Bamba fouled Kenny Miller, who rolled in the third in stoppage time.

It was Miller who had won the penalty, with he and fellow former Hibs man Whittaker being instrumental as the Easter Road side's hopes of moving to within two points of second-top Celtic were dashed.

Visiting manager John Hughes had showed no fear, making four changes and promising a 4-2-4 formation in his pre-match interview on BBC Radio Scotland.

Strike duo Derek Riordan and Colin Nish made way for Abdessalam Benjelloun and former Rangers forward Alan Gow, while Merouane Zemmama and Hanlon replaced David Wotherspoon and Kevin McBride.

Gow was one of three former Ibrox men in the Hibs line-up, along with Graeme Smith and Ian Murray, while Kevin Thomson returned to complete Rangers complement of ex-Easter Road men.

American winger DaMarcus Beasley made his first appearance since December - Steven Naismith and Kirk Broadfoot dropped out - and everything seemed set up for an attacking game from both sides.

Rangers took the game to Hibs from the start and Miller rifled a shot narrowly over the crossbar from just outside the area.

Hibs responded, with Merouane Zemmama giving Papac a hard time wide on the visitors' right, and the Moroccan's cross found Anthony Stokes only for the striker to connect awkwardly with a volley that bobbled off target.

Papac was in the right place at the right time when a Zemmama corner found Hanlon free at the back post and the defender's header was flicked clear off the line by the Bosnian's forehead.

Rangers claimed for a penalty when Hibs defender Chris Hogg tussled with David Weir inside the box at a corner at the other end, but referee Steve Conroy ignored the home captain's appeals.

An increasingly tetchy first-half ended with Thomson being shown a yellow card for a cynical lunge at Zemmama, while a cheeky elbow in the midfielder's face led to a booking for Boyd.

At first, it appeared that it would mean that Rangers' top scorer would miss the next derby against Celtic through suspension, but it appears that he will only collect two points for obstruction rather than three for violent conduct.

Kyle Lafferty replaced Beasley, who looked short of match fitness, at half-time and immediately turned inside marker Hogg and fired a drive that was straight at Smith from 25 yards but the first real test for the goalkeeper.

Lafferty was instrumental as Rangers made the breakthrough four minutes after the break.

The Northern Ireland forward turned the ball wide for Whittaker, who moved inside, played a one-two with Lafferty and fired a left-foot drive into the far corner from 16 yards.

It developed into an end-to-end affair but took until the 69th-minute before either goalkeeper was further tested, Rangers' Allan McGregor allowing a 20-yard Zemmama drive to slip through his grasp before holding the spinning ball at the second attempt.

Rangers almost immediately went further ahead when Miller went down under a challenge from Bamba and Boyd, who had been poised to be replaced with Nacho Novo, blasted his 21st goal of the season from the penalty spot.

Rangers were now in the ascendancy and Whittaker forced a good save from Smith with a cheeky chip and the goalkeeper made another stop to deny Steven Davis from close range.

Thomson pounced on a Hibs mistake to set up Miller to side-foot home from 12 yards to seal a convincing win.

Scottish Premier League table
 
Aye well done on 2 in a row, not bad for a pish team, a manager with no contract or money to spend on teabags, and no new players for what? 3 years and who could fold at anytime :grayno:
 
Aye well done on 2 in a row, not bad for a pish team, a manager with no contract or money to spend on teabags, and no new players for what? 3 years and who could fold at anytime

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it's breaking my heart.


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Robbie Keane selling jerseys for 65k a week.
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hope this does not come back 2 bite me on the erse.
 
Rangers manager Walter Smith admitted he was relieved to learn Kris Boyd would be available for the Old Firm derby against Celtic at the end of the month.

The Gers camp thought Boyd had gone through the points barrier that would have warranted a suspension for the Celtic clash, but referee Steve Conroy confirmed the caution was issued for obstructing Hibs' Merouane Zemmama.

The news means the fans' favourite will be available for the hugely-anticipated clash at Ibrox on 28th February by the skin of his teeth.

"I looked at the list during the week and when he got booked I thought he might have been out," said Smith. "But the referee says it was for obstruction which is just a two-point one so he has a point to go yet.
 
The Gers camp thought Boyd had gone through the points barrier that would have warranted a suspension for the Celtic clash, but referee Steve Conroy confirmed the caution was issued for obstructing Hibs' Merouane Zemmama.
.

Dearie me, only when you play the infirm could a forearm smash be construed as obstruction. :thumbdown:


:Cheers:
 
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