Team news, stats and predictions for Wednesday’s Scottish Premiership action.
Dundee United vs St Mirren – Wednesday, 6pm kick-off
Jeando Fuchs and Calum Butcher are moving closer to a return to the Dundee United squad.
The midfield pair could be in contention for the visit of St Mirren on Wednesday night but Logan Chalmers is making his way back from an ankle injury.
St Mirren will again be without Jake Doyle-Hayes and Collin Quaner.
Midfielder Doyle-Hayes missed the Betfred Cup semi-final defeat with a knock but could be back at the weekend.
Recent signing Quaner is expected to be out for a month with a knee problem.
Key stats:
- Dundee United are currently on a six-game unbeaten streak in the top flight against St. Mirren (W4 D2), having failed to score in only their most recent encounter between the two sides during this run (0-0 in November 2020).
- St. Mirren have conceded 15 goals in their last five away games against Dundee United in the league, winning just a sole fixture during this run in December 2012 (L4).
- Dundee United are winless in their last five matches in the Scottish Premiership (D4 L1). Their last win in the league came against Kilmarnock in December 2020 (2-0).
- St Mirren are winless in their last four matches of the Premiership and have conceded goals in all these matches since their 2-0 victory against Ross County in December 2020.
How to follow: Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.
Ross County vs Motherwell – Wednesday, 6pm kick-off
Ross County’s Connor Randall is to have a scan on a back problem which will see him miss the Premiership visit of Motherwell.
Loan midfielder Stephen Kelly returns having been unable to play against his parent club Rangers at the weekend. Ross Stewart could return after injury but Carl Tremarco is still a bit away.
New signing Mohamed Maouche is still self-isolating after returning from France, while Tom Grivosti (hamstring) remains on the sidelines.
Motherwell midfielder Liam Polworth is suspended for the trip to the Highlands after being sent off against Aberdeen at the weekend.
1:30
Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Motherwell
Key stats:
- Ross County have won just two of their last five top-flight games against Motherwell (L3), shipping 11 goals during this run and keeping just one clean sheet.
- The last time Motherwell visited Ross County on a Wednesday in the Scottish Premiership was in May 2016, a 3-1 win for the Steelmen.
- Ross County have two wins from their last five matches in the Scottish Premiership (D1 L2). The Staggies managed to keep a clean sheet during their 2-0 win against Hibernian, which is the only time they haven’t conceded in their last 14 league games.
- Motherwell are winless in their last 12 matches in the Scottish Premiership (D5 L7), they have conceded 22 goals in these matches managing just a sole clean sheet in their 0-0 draw against Aberdeen in December 2020.
How to follow: Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.
St Johnstone vs Aberdeen – Wednesday, 6pm kick-off
Glenn Middleton could make his St Johnstone debut when Aberdeen visit McDiarmid Park.
The Rangers winger has impressed Callum Davidson in training this week after agreeing a loan move and is set to make the bench.
Saints have a fully fit squad with Guy Melamed overcoming a niggle which contributed to him spending Saturday’s Betfred Cup semi-final on the bench.
Aberdeen’s Tommie Hoban (centre) was on the scoresheet last time out
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes insists Scott Wright remains part of his plans for this season despite signing a pre-contract with Rangers.
The winger will move to Ibrox in the summer but remains in McInnes’ squad and could feature against St Johnstone in Perth.
Ross McCrorie (ankle) and Dylan McGeouch (groin) are both making progress in their recoveries but again miss out against Saints along with Mikey Devlin (ankle).
Key stats:
- St. Johnstone are currently on a seven-game winless run against Aberdeen at home (D3 L4) in which they have managed to keep just one clean sheet. Their last win against the Dons at McDiarmid Pard came in April 2016 (3-0).
- Aberdeen have a 50% win percentage in their last six league encounters against St. Johnstone (D2 L1), with the Dons failing to score in only one game which they lost during this run.
- St. Johnstone have one win in their last 11 matches in the Scottish Premiership (D6 L4). However, the win was registered during their most recent match in the league against St. Mirren (1-0).
- Aberdeen have one win from their last three matches in the Scottish Premiership (L2). However, the win came in their most recent match against Motherwell (2-0).
How to follow: Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.
Hibernian vs Rangers – Wednesday, 7.45pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
Wednesday 27th January 7:00pm
Kick off 7:45pm
Hibernian will be without Joe Newell as they look to bounce back from their Betfred Cup disappointment against Rangers.
Midfielder Newell has missed Hibs’ last two games – including Saturday’s semi-final defeat to St Johnstone at Hampden – with a groin problem.
Manager Jack Ross remains without Kyle Magennis (hamstring) and Sean Mackie (thigh) for the visit of Gers to Leith.
Kemar Roofe is likely to feature after Rangers boss Steven Gerrard admitted Saturday’s Ross County clash had come too soon for the striker.
2:00
Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Ross County
Roofe was on the bench for the 5-0 Ibrox win but was not introduced having trained just once before the meeting with John Hughes’ team. However, the former Leeds forward – who injured his thigh against Celtic on January 2 – is back firmly in contention for action in Leith.
Scott Arfield (ankle) is on target for a mid-February return meaning George Edmundson (hernia) and long-term knee-injury victim Nikola Katic are the only two players still out.
1:20
Steven Gerrard says he is ‘really pleased’ after Aberdeen winger Scott Wright agreed a pre-contract deal with Rangers – and hints more business could follow
Key stats:
- Hibernian have failed to win their last four league games against Rangers played on Wednesday (D1 L3), with their last such win coming in November 2010.
- Rangers are currently on an 18-game unbeaten streak at Easter Road against Hibernian, winning 11 such encounters (D7). The Gers last loss came way back in 2006 (2-1).
- The Hibs have just one win in their last five matches in the Scottish Premiership (D1 L3). Although the win came in their most recent match against Kilmarnock (2-0).
- Rangers are unbeaten in their last 26 matches in the Scottish Premiership (W23 D3). They have scored 66 and conceded just seven.
How to follow: Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.
Celtic vs Hamilton – Wednesday, 7.45pm kick-off
Jeremie Frimpong is heading for the Celtic exit
Defender Jeremie Frimpong is abroad negotiating a move out of Celtic ahead of the Scottish Premiership game against Hamilton.
Captain Scott Brown is suspended after being sent off against Livingston last week.
Christopher Jullien is out long-term with a knee injury and James Forrest is working his way back from ankle surgery.
0:41
Hamilton boss Brian Rice dismisses talk that his team are playing Celtic at a good time following the champions’ poor run of form
Hamilton head coach Brian Rice is hopeful he can welcome back some of his Accies absentees against the Hoops.
Shaun Want (thigh), Will Collar (knee) and Lewis Smith (hamstring) have all been out in recent weeks and Rice expects to have at least one of them back on the bench at Parkhead.
David Templeton (groin) is out for the remainder of the season.
Key stats:
- Celtic have won 26 of the 29 games played against Hamilton Academical in the Scottish top-flight, with their only loss coming against the Accies in October 2014 (D2).
- Hamilton Academical have conceded 29 goals against Celtic in their last nine away games, shipping an average of 3.2 goals per game against the Bhoys.
- Celtics are winless in their last four matches in the Scottish Premiership (D3 L1), the last time they failed to register a win in five matches in top-flight football was in September 1998.
- Hamilton Academical have one win from their last six matches in the Scottish Premiership (D2 L3). They have three clean sheets in these matches and have conceded a total of seven goals.
How to follow: Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.
Livingston vs Kilmarnock – Wednesday, 7.45pm kick-off
Livingston have no fresh injury problems.
Long-term absentees Alan Lithgow (hip) and Keaghan Jacobs (foot) remain on the sidelines but former Hamilton striker George Oakley could be on the bench for Kilmarnock after signing until the end of the season.
0:41
David Martindale discusses how he feels after passing the SFA’s fit and proper test
Kilmarnock will be without Kirk Broadfoot for another two or three weeks while Calum Waters has undergone hernia surgery and faces a similar spell out.
Rory McKenzie and Zeno Rossi are back in training and could return to the bench at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
Gary Dicker is back training on his own while Ross Millen also remains on the sidelines.
Key stats:
- Livingston have won two of their last three home encounters against Kilmarnock, with their loss coming in October 2020 when the Killie won 3-1 at the Tony Macaroni Area.
- Kilmarnock have never lost a tie at the Tony Macaroni Area against Livingston when it was played on a Wednesday (W1 D1).
- Livingston are unbeaten in their last eight matches in the Scottish Premiership (W6 D2). Although the draws came in their most recent matches.
- Kilmarnock have two wins in their last nine matches in the Scottish Premiership (D1 L6). They have two clean sheets during this period both of which was registered during the wins.
How to follow: Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.