Scottish Premiership - what to watch for this weekend

The Scottish Premiership fixture card may be reduced this weekend but there's plenty to look forward to as we approach round three.

Celtic and Hearts are the only teams on maximum points and Aberdeen are the sole side yet to get off the mark.

The Dons will have to wait to change that since they and Hibernian have chosen to postpone visits to Dundee United and Falkirk respectively to focus on their European play-offs.

Let's have a closer look at what's on...

Rangers have made a sticky start, drawing both Premiership games so far.

The boos that followed the recent 1-1 with Dundee at Ibrox were nothing compared to the loud disgruntlement expressed 20 minutes into their Champions League qualifier with Club Brugge on Tuesday as the Belgians raced into a 3-0 lead, eventually leaving Glasgow 3-1 winners.

Not since 1989 have Rangers gone without a victory in their first three league outings and head coach Russell Martin really needs to avoid another domestic slip with a visit from Celtic following the return leg in West Flanders.

Meanwhile, Sunday's hosts St Mirren are looking to extend their unbeaten run against Rangers to four matches.

It was 2-2 when Rangers were last in Paisley in April and Stephen Robinson's men struck late on Boxing Day for a 2-1 success.

In between, the Buddies celebrated their first win at Ibrox since 1991 to make it back-to-back victories over the Govan side for the first time since the 1979-80 season.

St Mirren are still waiting for a league goal this term but spirits will be high after knocking Hearts out of the Premier Sports Cup on penalties. And they may fancy adding to their tally of six goals in three games against Rangers after League 1 Alloa Athletic struck twice at Ibrox in the same competition.

Martin is busy rebuilding a squad that picked up just eight Premiership wins on the road last season.

Robinson has a mere fraction of that budget but has continuity and his skills of organisation have been rewarded with three successive top-six finishes.

Stuart Findlay sits joint-top of the Premiership scoring charts, with three.

The central defender is just one away from his best return in the competition and could become the first player to net in each of his first three top-flight appearances for Hearts since Rudi Skacel in 2005-06.

He also nodded home six minutes into his Jambos debut in the League Cup against Hamilton Accies.

That cup run is now over, with St Mirren interrupting a run of six successive victories.

Derek McInnes will be anxious to get back on track at home to Motherwell, who have lost six of their past seven league visits to Tynecastle.

Much has been made of the analytics approach to recruitment now in place in Gorgie but the head coach did not need any computer data on 29-year-old Findlay who he made sure followed him from Kilmarnock this summer.

It's fair to say more than a few Kilmarnock fans were unimpressed when Stuart Kettlewell was chosen to replace Derek McInnes, but an unbeaten start may well have won over a few doubters.

There's a home tie against St Mirren to look forward to in the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup and Saturday's game against Dundee at Rugby Park is an opportunity to keep up the feel-good factor.

Killie are unbeaten in their previous six home league games against the Dark Blues (W3 D3).

New strikers Marcus Dackers and Djenairo Daniels are both off the mark, Ben Brannan is the breakthrough story of the campaign so far and David Watson is brimming with confidence as a first pick in midfield.

Both of Killie's league matches have finished 2-2. A two-goal lead at home to Livingston evaporated after a red card but any questions about the team's resilience were answered at Easter Road when they hit back from 2-0 down.

Three points on Saturday would be just the tonic for a seemingly refreshed Kettlewell, with a visit to Fir Park next up for the man who left Motherwell in January, citing the strain of personal abuse.

Champions Celtic are at home to Livingston on Saturday and the West Lothian side have never won on any of their 21 visits in all competitions (D3 L18).

Celtic have only faced Dumbarton more times at home in their history without losing (26).