Big card in the SPL could mean midweek mayhem

26th Jan2011

Big card in the SPL could mean midweek mayhem

by WeKnowSFA

A few really important matches tonight

The last two midweeks have featured action in the SPL and there has been no shortage of interest or intrigue in these games.

Two weeks ago, Celtic travelled to New Douglas Park and once again the Parkhead club were on the receiving end of a number of mystifying decisions. Celtic eventually salvaged a point in the match but it was definitely two points dropped for a club with ambitions for the title.

The following week, Rangers were at home to Caley Thistle and once again, the referee was at the centre of the post-match discussions. Terry Butcher was raging at the performance of the officials and pointed out that Rangers winning goal stemmed from a blatant foul on one of his players. There was a lot of work to do before Steven Davis slammed the ball home for the only goal of the game but Butcher made a very valid point.

Hearts also managed a late win at Rugby Park which set them up nicely for a weekend win over Rangers and the Jambos are in the spotlight again tonight, with their match at Celtic Park being the pick of a bunch of interesting games.

Celtic v Hearts
Hibs v Rangers
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Aberdeen
St Johnstone v Motherwell
St Mirren v Dundee United

With bottom club Hamilton not in action until Saturday when they will face Kilmarnock, there is a chance for St Mirren to put further space between themselves and the bottom of the SPL. Dundee United have been in up and down form recently but given that they went through a long period of inactivity, this is maybe not a surprise. The game at New St Mirren Park could certainly go either way but you would expect United to be the more likely team to grab a goal.

Stuart McCall grabbed his first win as Motherwell manager against hapless Hibs at the weekend and he will be keen to build on this win, especially with a Cup semi-final looming at the weekend. St Johnstone lie five points behind the Well but with a game in hand, a home win at McDiarmid Park would give Derek McInness great belief in overhauling the Steelmen and breaking into the top six.

Inverness Caley have struggled for wins at home of late and the resurgence of Aberdeen under Craig Brown has been well documented. An away win tonight will put Aberdeen 6 points behind Caley but the Dandy Dons will also hold two games in hand over their Northern rivals.

Rangers head back along the M8 again but there is surely no chance of the champions losing to Hibs?

The Easter Road side caused the shock of the season with a 3-0 win at Ibrox earlier in the campaign but Hibs have really struggled under Colin Calderwood, including an embarrassing cup exit at the hands of Ayr United. Rangers will think they should have won the match at Tynecastle on Saturday and will be out for all three points tonight.

The match at Celtic Park is the game of the evening and you would not be shocked at any outcome.

This will be the most confident Hearts will have ever felt on a trip to Glasgow and if they can avoid defeat tonight, they will consider themselves in the mix for the title. It is easy to say that Hearts will eventually flag in the title race but that is only surmising. The historical evidence may suggest they will tail off but there is no reason why Hearts cannot keep going.

Celtic are of course the league leaders and even though they face a defensive crisis for the match tonight, they should be up for the game. A home win will see Celtic take a lot of confidence and could provide a huge boost for their title aspirations.

Midweek match seem to have an edge and the fixture list for this evening throws up some cracking matches.