Plenty of appetising fixtures throughout the Scottish Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two this weekend and you can find my free, researched predictions below.

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Celtic v St Mirren

The resurgence of Celtic after a slow start to the season continues with the Hoops putting in another top-notch display in their 2-0 win over Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar. That was their fifth successive win in all competitions and you get the feeling that the players are beginning to buy into the system employed by Ange Postecoglou.

Celtic shouldn’t have to be at full strength this weekend with Ange Postecoglou’s system being the real star of this Celtic side (well, with the exception of Kyoto Furuhashi and the reborn Tony Ralston). Their intense pressing will be a breath of fresh air for the fans having endured the last season under Neil Lennon and it does look to be highly effective.

While their newfound front foot attitude is more than welcome at Parkhead, Jim Goodwin and co won’t be too keen on it. St Mirren are a very stubborn side and one that should do well this season under Goodwin’s stewardship but a trip to face Celtic is probably a step too far for this team and they could be struggling this weekend.

St Mirren’s cause won’t be helped by the news that manager Jim Goodwin will be absent having recently tested positive for COVID. With this positive test, there always remains the possibility of an outbreak at the club and it would not surprise me at all to see plenty more positive tests prior to the game kicking off.

It should be more of a routine victory for Celtic than another pumping like their 6-0 rout over Dundee, with St Mirren being a bit more solid than James McPake’s side but I wouldn’t be shocked to see a rejuvenated Celtic grab two or three en route to all three points.

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Morton v Queen of the South

Queen of the South can feel aggrieved at the fixture computer as facing Killie and Partick to kick off the season with a new squad isn’t the easiest of start but they’ll be hopeful of getting a result in Greenock this weekend. Morton will be confident too, and they look in far better than many expected (myself included), meaning this could be quite an exciting match up.

Queens will be without their first choice keeper Josh Rae as he needs an operation on a fractured eye socket. Rae has impressed so far this season so his absence could be keenly felt, and Morton will be happy to take advantage.

Morton have been consistent scorers so far this campaign and a win over Hamilton last weekend represents a strong start to the season. Gozie Ugwu got their only goal last weekend and the striker does look to be an effective partner to Robbie Muirhead up top.

Queen of the South were on the wrong end of a 1-0 last weekend but there’s little shame in losing to Kille as they did. They’re a dynamic, young side who should cause problems against the sides not as fancied as Killie (spoiler: every other side in the Championship). I’ve mentioned it before but they will be caught out at the back this season, and they won’t have Rae to rely on this weekend of course. They’ll instead have Middlesbrough loanee Sol Brynn between the sticks, and the 20-year-old is yet to make a senior competitive appearance.

Goals shouldn’t be a massive issue at Cappielow this weekend and I think we may even see a few more than the two I’m backing with two evenly matched sides keen to get points on the board.

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Falkirk v Clyde

Paul Sheerin looks to have had a similar impact at Falkirk as Postecoglou has had at Celtic, with the Bairns starting the season so we’ll after ending the last woefully.

They tailed off spectacularly last campaign, contriving to not only lose top spot but miss out on the League One play-odds completely. It was a dire performance from a full-time outfit in the third tier and one that wouldn’t have been easy to bounce back from but Sheerin looks to have successfully rallied the troops.

They look as well set for a title charge as they ever have at this level and I know I keep going on about it between these articles and my accumulator research but their attacking midfield options are incredible. Craig McGuffie, Aidan Nesbitt and Calumn Morrison allow Falkirk to dominate games and they each have the quality to win games on their own, let alone as a trio. Nesbitt particularly looks brilliant. He’s not really found a home after leaving Celtic but he’s certainly delivering on his enormous potential that was so obviously there when he was coming through at Celtic.

Nesbitt and his talented wide men make for an excellent supply line and Aidan Keena is the benefactor of such quality, with the striker bagging his first goal of the season last weekend. And what a goal too. Honestly if you’ve not seen his sumptuous finish against Airdrie please give it a watch. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him on the scoresheet against Clyde this weekend too and think a dominant Falkirk side could rack up another win and three points.

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Albion Rovers v Annan

Goals have been plentiful for both of these sides over the opening three games of the season and I feel we could be in for much of the same this time around at Cliftonhill.

Brian Reid’s Albion Rovers were the victim of a Kane Hester masterclass last weekend, with the striker banging in a hat-trick before the 50the minute mark but they’ll be hopeful of returning to winning ways against Annan. Hester is a player who should be playing at least a division higher but the goals Albion Rovers gave away last weekend were testament to a side not quite ready to push for the Play-Offs after some tough seasons at the other end of the division.

They should be more than capable of troubling the scoring this weekend though. With Annan keeping just one clean sheet over their opening eight games of the season. Like their opponents, they’ve struggled to stop the goals at one end, but have shown their prowess in front of goal by scoring past Airdrie, Queen of the South and Queens Park in the League Cup.

This should be an entertaining watch for anyone headed to the game but for the rest of us, we’ll have to be content with hopefully three Flashscore goal pings.

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Kelty Hearts v Edinburgh City

I suspect I don’t need to have to go into too much detail as to why I’m backing Kelty Hearts this weekend if you’ve read any of my Scottish previews this season. They’re a step above the eight sides beneath themselves and Forfar, including Edinburgh City.

A win against Stenny last weekend was the first of the season for City but they are far from likely to follow it up with another win in the league. They lost to Hearts Colts during the week and I suspect it’ll be a similar outcome this time around too.

It was interesting to see Kelty draw with Forfar last weekend and suggests there could be more of a title race than first anticipated. They managed a 2-2 draw with Forfar and, ominously for the rest of the division, Natan Austin grabbed both goals.

“Fash” missed the opening two games of the season but six goals in the five games he’s played shows his scoring power. He’s lethal and will be expectant of scoring so many this season. Like so many in the Kelty in the squad, he’s too good for League Two and I suspect they’ll not be here for long.

We may as well enjoy them while they’re in League Two and I suspect we may be in for a treat this weekend. They should grab a few en route to the win this weekend with Kevin Thomson’s side playing some brilliant football, football that should be too much for Edinburgh City.

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18+ please gamble responsibly. All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.

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