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With the title all but secured by Celtic, the issue of who will fill the final top-six place before the Scottish Premiership split could also be settled on a weekend of fixtures staggered over three days.
Meanwhile, a three-pronged battle to avoid relegation could become four if St Johnstone continue their poor form.
Here’s what to watch out for this weekend…
Game of weekend – Hibernian v Heart of Midlothian
Saturday’s Edinburgh derby would be the standout fixture even if Hearts had not sacked manager Robbie Neilson on Sunday.
The Tynecastle board acted swiftly after a home defeat by St Mirren 24 hours earlier allowed Aberdeen to overtake them and move into third spot, which for so long seemed to be Hearts’ for the taking.
In truth, Hearts had been getting results even with below-par performances long before even the victories started drying up and they descended into a run of five straight defeats.
Problems continue behind the scenes despite former Scotland forward Steven Naismith being installed as caretaker after the exit of fellow co-assistant Lee McCulloch, with Robert Snodgrass also now negotiating an early exit. The veteran former Scotland midfielder’s form had dipped in tandem with his side’s results.
However, Hearts head across the capital to Leith having not lost in nine derbies since December 2019, winning the latest two 3-0, and are unbeaten in seven visits to Easter Road since March 2018.
Not only that, their hosts have themselves slipped out the race for third after four consecutive defeats that leave them in danger of dropping out of the top six should Livingston better their results over the next two games. Failure to reverse Hibs’ derby fortunes will heap further pressure on their own manager, Lee Johnson.
Player to watch – Kevin van Veen (Motherwell)
Kyogo Furuhashi is out on his own as the Premiership’s top scorer, both with 22 in the league and 28 in all competitions for league leaders Celtic.
But, considering Kevin van Veen is playing for a side who have been in the lower half of the league, the Motherwell striker’s 18 in the league and 22 overall is just as impressive.
Indeed, his seven goals in his latest four games is pretty remarkable and have been instrumental in lifting the Lanarkshire team out of the relegation zone.
The Dutchman has matured like a good cheese and, at 31, is in the form of his life.
His 22 goals in 37 appearances is already double what he achieved in 39 games last season and have long since surpassed his previous best in British football – 15 in 33 games for Scunthorpe United while they were in League Two.
As Motherwell prepare to face bottom side Dundee United on Saturday, Van Veen just needs to find the net twice more to match his best-ever total in senior football – the 24 he amassed in 34 games for Cuijk in the Dutch third tier back in 2013-14.
He is also only four behind John Sutton’s Motherwell record of most goals in a single Premiership campaign. Bet against him toppling that at your peril.
Manager in spotlight – David Martindale (Livingston)
With two games to go before the Premiership splits in two for the final round of fixtures, Livingston manager David Martindale could be about to suffer a sense of deja vu.
Almost a year ago, his side were heading into the top six until Motherwell scored an equaliser in the final seconds of their final pre-split game.
This time, having targeted European football prior to a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock at the start of February that lifted Livingston to fourth place with a game in hand over the teams around them, Martindale’s side have dropped to seventh after two lacklustre and damaging 3-0 defeats on the road.
Not long ago, Martindale was being touted for a lucrative move up the football ladder. Now, though, if Hibs win the Edinburgh derby, Livingston will have to improve on a run of one win in eight as they host St Johnstone in order to avoid another top-six disappointment.
The plus points for the West Lothian side are that they are at home, have won both meetings so far this season with Callum Davidson’s side and the visitors from Perth themselves are without a win in five outings as they sit only five points clear of the relegation play-off place.
