The Scottish Premiership resumes for one more round of fixtures before this month's international break. Six games, five kick-off times, lots of issues to address. Last weekend turned out to be a good one for Rangers in more ways than one.
A late Ryan Naderi goal sealed a Premier Sports Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen on Saturday evening. And, on Sunday at lunchtime, Premiership leaders Celtic lost in Falkirk, opening up the possibility of Rangers reducing the gap at the top to a point before the reigning champions host Kilmarnock on Sunday. However, to do that, Derek McInnes' side, now unbeaten in 11 outings, must win away to St Mirren on Saturday.
The last time Rangers were in the Saturday 20:00 slot, they dropped two points away to Dundee and another warning for the Ibrox side is St Mirren's recent home form - a draw with Hibernian and a victory over in-form Dundee. Craig McLeish's side havw won just once in eight games but ran Rangers pretty close the last time the sides met in Glasgow, only a late Bojan Miovski goal separating the sides. The Buddies are holding their own in the Premiership this term, sitting eighth within touching distance of the top six at this early stage and St Mirren led Celtic in a Saturday night contest before eventually losing 2-1 in early September.
An intriguing match under the lights awaits. Hibs were the other League Cup semi-final victors, coming from a goal down to beat Edinburgh rivals Heart of Midlothian 2-1 to end a seven-game run without a win. The task for Marink Reedijk and his side now is to get their Premiership form in order before returning to Hampden to face Rangers in mid-December.
Under their new Duthc coach, Hibs have taken only one point from a possible 12 so far and prop up the table having played 11 games. Aberdeen host the Edinburgh side on Saturday evening and the Dons themselves need a turnaround in fortunes in the league, having lost two in a row in the division prior to their semi-final defeat by Rangers. Stephen Robinson's side are third from bottom, three points better off than Hibs, and the sides drew 1-1 at Easter Road only last month.
It's perhaps still a tad early to be talking in terms of crisis for either club, particularly given Hibs could end the calendar year with a trophy in the cabinet, but both teams need to get a bit of a move on to preserve their top-six ambitions. Duran & Osmand spark Celtic into life - but where does that leave Hogh? Late Duran double downs Besiktas to give Celtic first Europa League win Injury-hit and error-ridden Hearts slump to defeat in Thun Last week's Saturday results in the Premiership did little to break up the clutch of clubs jostling for position in the middle of the table.
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