Scottish Premiership previews, team news, kick-off times and how to follow on Sky Sports | Football News

April 22, 2022 admin

Team news, stats, and how to follow the Scottish Premiership this weekend, with both Celtic and Rangers live on Sky Sports.

Motherwell vs Rangers – Saturday, 12pm, live on Sky Sports Football

Team news

Graham Alexander will assess on an unnamed Motherwell player ahead of the visit of Rangers. The Well boss hopes to have approximately the same squad which was available for the game against Livingston in their last outing.

Nathan McGinley remains out and Barry Maguire is out for the season following quad surgery.

Rangers will be without Kemar Roofe for three or four matches after the striker suffered knee pain following Sunday’s Hampden win over Celtic.

Midfielder Aaron Ramsey will also be missing for a similar period after going off with a hamstring injury in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Defender Filip Helander (foot), striker Alfredo Morelos (thigh) and attacker Ianis Hagi (knee) are out for the season.

Opta stats

Motherwell are winless in their last 51 top-flight league meetings with Rangers (D15 L36) since a 1-0 victory in December 2002 thanks to a James McFadden winner.
Rangers remain unbeaten in their last 25 top-flight away games at Motherwell (W16 D9), winning their previous such visit this season 6-1 in October, which was the first time they had scored six goals in a top-flight away match since September 2002 (6-0 vs Dunfermline Athletic).
Motherwell have only won one of their last 13 league games (D6 L6), although that was their last such game at home, a 4-2 win over St. Mirren.
Rangers have only lost one of their last 15 away league fixtures (W11 D3), a 0-3 defeat to rivals Celtic in February.
No player has scored more away goals in this seasons Scottish Premiership than Rangers’ Kemar Roofe (seven), this despite the fact that the Jamaica international has made just five starts away from home in the league this term (out of 10 away apps). Roofe is averaging a goal every 74 minutes away from home in this seasons Scottish Premiership, the best ratio of any player with more than one goal on the road in the division in 2021-22.

How to follow: Watch Motherwell vs Rangers live from 11.30am on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, kick-off 12pm, or follow in our dedicated live match blog featuring in-game highlights. Full match highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel later that evening.

Aberdeen vs Livingston – Saturday, 3pm

Team news

Aberdeen have reported no fresh injuries ahead of their clash with Livingston. Midfielder Dylan McGeouch is battling to get back to fitness after a niggle. Defender Adam Montgomery (hamstring) and forward Matty Kennedy (back) remain on the sidelines.

Former Dons striker Bruce Anderson could return for Livingston after making a swifter-than-expected recovery from an ankle injury.

James Penrice is an injury doubt after going off with a knock against Motherwell last time out. Fellow defender Tom Parkes will definitely miss out after being booked in for knee surgery.

Opta stats

Aberdeen have only lost one of their last 10 home league meetings with Livingston (W7 D2), a 0-2 reverse in February 2021.
Livingston won their last league meeting with Aberdeen 2-1 in February; only in April 2004 have they ever won consecutive top-flight meetings with the Dons.
This is the first season that Aberdeen have finished in the Scottish Premiership bottom six when the division splits after MD33 since 2012-13; the club had finished at least fourth in each of the last eight seasons since.
Livingston have lost both of their last two away league games; they haven’t lost three in a row in the road since April 2021.
Aberdeen have only won one of their last 13 league matches (D6 L6), a 3-1 home win over Hibernian in March.

How to follow: Follow the action with our dedicated Scottish Premiership blog. Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.

Dundee vs St Johnstone – Saturday, 3pm

Team news

Dundee have no fresh injury problems ahead of their crucial relegation duel with St Johnstone. Goalkeeper Adam Legzdins remains out with a knee problem and is unlikely to feature again this season. Defender Lee Ashcroft (hamstring) and striker Cillian Sheridan (Achilles) are out for the season.

St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson also has no new injury worries for the trip to Dundee. Tony Gallacher, Craig Bryson, Chris Kane and David Wotherspoon remain on the sidelines with various injuries.

Saints are five points ahead of bottom side Dundee with five post-split fixtures remaining.

Opta stats

Dundee have won six of their last eight home league meetings with St. Johnstone, losing the other two in March 2018 and December 2018.
St. Johnstone have only lost one of their last seven league matches against Dundee (W5 D1), although have failed to score in both of their last two (D1 L1).
Dundee have won just one of their last 18 league games (D6 L11), failing to win each of their last eight at home (D3 L5) since a 1-0 win over St. Johnstone in December.
St. Johnstone have only won one of their last 10 away league outings (D2 L7), and are winless in five such matches (D2 L3) since a 2-1 win at Livingston in February.
A league-high 34% of Dundee’s Scottish Premiership goals this season have come from set-pieces, excluding penalties (10/29). Contrastingly, opponents St. Johnstone have only scored four set-piece goals in the league this season (also excluding penalties), the fewest of any side.

How to follow: Follow the action with our dedicated Scottish Premiership blog. Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.

St Mirren vs Hibernian – Saturday, 3pm

Team news

St Mirren defender Charles Dunne will miss the visit of Hibernian and likely the remainder of the season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot.

Goalkeeper Jak Alnwick returns from suspension while Greg Kiltie has trained all week after injury and Ryan Flynn returned to training on Thursday. Scott Tanser is battling for fitness while Matt Millar remains out with a tendon injury.

Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous drops out again through suspension as he serves the third game of his four-match league ban.

Josh Doig has returned to training after a knock but Darren McGregor, Drey Wright, Christian Doidge and Demetri Mitchell are all still out. Kevin Nisbet and Kyle Magennis are both out for the season following knee surgery.

Opta stats

St. Mirren’s 1-0 win over Hibernian in February was their first victory in their last 12 Scottish Premiership meetings with them (D4 L7).
Hibernian have won five of their last six Scottish Premiership away games at St. Mirren, although drew their most recent visit in December (1-1).
St. Mirren have lost six of their last seven league games (W1), including each of their last three in a row; they last lost more on the bounce from August to October 2020 (run of six).
Hibernian have only won one of their last 13 league matches (D6 L6), failing to win any of their six away games in this time (D2 L4).
Hibernian have lost 20 points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season, more than any other side.

How to follow: Follow the action on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.

Ross County vs Celtic – Sunday, 2.30pm, live on Sky Sports Football

Team news

Ross County have Kayne Ramsay back from suspension for the visit of Celtic. Ramsay served a two-match ban following a challenge on Tom Rogic when the teams met last month.

Goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer (broken nose) remains out while Josh Sims has been working on his fitness.

Celtic are missing Josip Juranovic after the full-back suffered a knock against Rangers at Hampden. The Croatia international will miss a couple of weeks at least, according to manager Ange Postecoglou.

Celtic otherwise have a full squad with striker Giorgos Giakoumakis available again following a hamstring strain.

Opta stats

Ross County’s only win in their last 26 league meetings with Celtic was at home in February 2021 under John Hughes after Jordan White’s winner (D5 L20).
Celtic have won 11 of their last 12 league games against Ross County (L1), scoring 37 goals while keeping nine clean sheets in this period.
Ross County have finished in the Scottish Premiership’s top six at the split of the division after MD33 for the first time since 2015-16. The Staggies failed to win any of their opening 10 league matches of this campaign (D3 L7), but since their 11th match onwards, only Celtic (63) and Rangers (53) have picked up more Scottish Premiership points than Malky Mackay’s side (37).
Since losing each of their first three away league games this season, Celtic have since won 12 of their last 14 on the road (D2). Home and away, the league leaders have won 23 of their last 26 Scottish Premiership fixtures (D3).
Of players to play at least 1,000 minutes in the Scottish Premiership this season, Celtic’s Jota is averaging the best minutes-per-assist ratio (one every 229 minutes).

How to follow: Watch Ross County vs Celtic live from 2.15pm on Sky Sports Football, kick-off 2.30pm, or follow in our dedicated live match blog featuring in-game highlights. Full match highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel later that evening.

Dundee United vs Hearts – Sunday, 3pm

Team news

Dundee United boss Tam Courts will assess Kevin McDonald ahead of the visit of Hearts. The midfielder is nursing a muscular problem while Max Biamou had a recurrence of a thigh injury. Ian Harkes (ankle) and Peter Pawlett (Achilles) are out for the rest of the season.

Hearts will assess several players with knocks including defender Stephen Kingsley. Andy Halliday is likely to miss out with an Achilles knock while Michael Smith is back in training after a back problem.

Craig Halkett (ankle) and Beni Baningime (knee) are out while John Souttar is set to return to the training pitch next week after ankle surgery.

Opta stats

Dundee United have only won one of their last six Scottish Premiership matches against Hearts (D1 L4), a 2-1 victory in February 2016 under Mixu Paatelainen.
Hearts scored nine goals in their three previous league games against Dundee United this season, at least three more than they netted versus any other club before the division’s split this term.
Dundee United have only lost one of their last 10 league games (W2 D7), and are unbeaten in their last five at home (W2 D3). This is the club’s longest unbeaten home run in the top-flight since November 2014 (run of seven).
Hearts are the first newly promoted Scottish Premiership side to finish in the division’s top six when it splits after MD33 since Hibernian in 2017-18.
Despite Hearts using fewer different players than any other side in this season’s Scottish Premiership (25), no club have had more different goalscorers (excluding own goals) in the 2021-22 competition than the Edinburgh club (18, level with Celtic).

How to follow: Follow the action with our dedicated Scottish Premiership blog. Free match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports website, app and YouTube channel later that evening.

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