Taylor Kirkwood

The Scottish Premiership returns after a nearly two-week break for international football. There are some exciting fixtures this weekend to look forward to. Here are three fixtures to watch.

Rangers vs Dundee United

A struggling Rangers team takes on Dundee United this Saturday at Ibrox. As Rangers currently sit in third place in the table it is crucial they secure the win.

Jim Goodwin’s Dundee United have had a strong return to the premiership, currently sitting fourth in the table. After winning the Scottish Championship last season United were determined to get a good start to the upcoming season.

After 12 matches, Dundee United have lost just four of their games and sit with 19 points. A win against Rangers would help United continue their impressive start to the season.

However, this game is a must win for Rangers, too as they currently sit third in the table and are nine points behind rivals Celtic. A win for Rangers would also help clear them seven points above Dundee United.

Rangers have struggled to find form and consistency this season in the league causing frustration among Philippe Clement’s side. Struggling against a ninth place Hearts in their last game saw them scrape a win, due to an early goal.

Could Rangers see victory over United like the last time they played or will “The Arabs” continue their momentum in the league and draw closer to Rangers.

Phillipe Clement against St Mirren by Ian MacNicol via Gettyimages

St Mirren vs Aberdeen

Over in Paisley, sixth place St Mirren take on second place Aberdeen. St Mirren have only won three times this season and hope to make a change soon.

On the other side Aberdeen are currently second in the premiership and tied on points with Celtic. Only dropping points against Celtic, Aberdeen is eager to come away with the win.

The Dons have massively improved from last season as they finished seventh overall. Jimmy Thelin who was appointed in June of this year has revived this Aberdeen side. Unbeaten in the league so far, The Dons hope to win this weekend to keep their unbeaten streak alive.

St Mirren have the home advantage in this match as well as coming off a win against Hibs in their last matchday. This will hopefully give the Saints an optimistic outlook on the upcoming match.

Aberdeen have been brilliant this season and a win in this match could take them closer to their title hopes.

Jimmy Thelin in Aberdeen press conference by Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Gettyimages

Hearts vs Celtic

Hearts take on Celtic this weekend at Tynecastle in hopes of improving their poor start to the season.

Newly appointed Neil Critchley had a challenging task coming in to try and change around the depleted Jambos. They have finally saw victory since his appointment and have improved slightly.

Celtic, however have been flying this season yet again and remain unbeaten in the league. It doesn’t look as if Brendan Rogers’ side is going to stop this momentum anytime soon.

Hearts desperately needs this win to help them move up the table and hopefully avoid relegation. Hearts usually put up a good fight against the bigger teams which could hinder Celtic’s spotless campaign so far.

A lose for either Celtic or Hearts could be detrimental to both of their seasons therefore both teams will want to walk away with all three points.

The Scottish premiership is back: Three games to watch this weekend