Saturday's Scottish Premiership predictions including Celtic vs. Hearts

Celtic vs. Hearts (Saturday, 3.00pm)

Following a disappointing defeat last weekend, Celtic will set out to strengthen their position at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Saturday, when they welcome Hearts to Celtic Park.

The defending champions suffered a first league defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock last time out but now head into the weekend on the back of a victory over Feyenoord to bow out of the Champions League group stage on a high.

We say: Celtic 3-1 Hearts

Aiming to avoid another slip which could see Rangers move within touching distance of top spot, Celtic should have more than enough quality, even without several key men, to get past Hearts on home turf this weekend.

Livingston vs. Kilmarnock (Saturday, 3.00pm)

Aiming to crack the top four of the Scottish Premiership table, Kilmarnock will go in search of a third straight league victory on Saturday, when they travel to take on strugglers Livingston.

The visitors prevailed over league leaders Celtic last time out to remain within touching distance of Hearts and Hibernian, while their hosts remain rooted to the foot of the division on the back of seven straight defeats.

We say: Livingston 0-2 Kilmarnock

With confidence from an eye-catching win last weekend, and travelling to a Livingston side devoid of any confidence in the midst of a rut, we can only envisage Kilmarnock making it back-to-back three-point hauls on Saturday with their sights set on breaking into the top three.

Ross County vs. Dundee (Saturday, 3.00pm)

Two sides separated by a single point in the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership table will square off on Saturday, when Ross County welcome Dundee to the Global Energy Stadium.

Having both suffered defeats last time out, the hosts sit eighth, while their visitors are narrowly better off in seventh spot with a game in hand and a five-point gap to the top six.

We say: Ross County 1-1 Dundee

Given their similar records thus far, we anticipate a tight encounter on Saturday and cannot quite pick a winner as both fight to bounce back with a three-point haul, instead opting for a share of the spoils as the most likely outcome in this mid-table clash.

St Mirren vs. Motherwell (Saturday, 3.00pm)

St Mirren will look to claim a second straight win when they welcome Motherwell to Paisley for Saturday's Scottish Premiership contest.

While the hosts are sitting in third position, Motherwell are down in 15th place after failing to win any of their last 13 matches.

We say: St Mirren 2-1 Motherwell

St Mirren have already claimed two competitive victories over Motherwell this season, and after they restored some belief with a win over St Johnstone last weekend, we think the hosts will claim a narrow victory against a Motherwell side that is low on confidence.

St Johnstone vs. Hibernian (Saturday, 3.00pm)

Hibernian will attempt to claim a second straight victory when they make the trip to Perth for Saturday's Scottish Premiership meeting with St Johnstone.

Meanwhile, the home side will be looking to go three games without defeat after collecting four points from their last two matches.

We say: St Johnstone 1-2 Hibernian

Although St Johnstone have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent home games, their recent head-to-head record suggests this could be a difficult fixture.

Hibernian have won five of their last eight meetings (D2, L1) with Saturday's opponents, and we think they will continue that impressive run of results by claiming a narrow win this weekend.