Moore to return for Rangers? Braga & Martindale in focus

Thursday’s European fixtures and Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final mean this weekend’s five remaining Scottish Premiership games are spread over three days.

With Celtic facing St Mirren at Hampden, Heart of Midlothian have the chance to stretch their lead to six points when they visit Falkirk on Saturday.

Third-place Motherwell have a chance to narrow the gap to the reigning champions when they visit Dundee United, as do Rangers and Hibernian when they meet on Monday.

There is a big game between Livingston and Dundee at the bottom and, on Sunday, Aberdeen host Kilmarnock.

Here are some key things to watch out for.

Rangers once more return to domestic action on the back of a bruising Europa League defeat, this time a 2-1 loss to Ferencvaros in Hungary.

Up until then they had gone six games unbeaten and have won five of their seven league games under Danny Rohl – as many as the final 18 prior to his arrival – drawing the other two.

But they have also won just once in five outings as the perceived progress since Russell Martin’s dismal short-lived reign as head coach threatens to stall.

A return to their own patch is no great cause for comfort given they have been held to draws in their latest two outings at Ibrox – and Monday’s visitors won 2-0 on their last league visit in April.

However, Rangers reversed that scoreline when they met again in the League Cup in September and also won their latest league meeting, 1-0 at Easter Road the following month.

Hibs have slipped down to fifth, two points behind Motherwell and Rangers, but after two defeats got back to winning ways with Saturday’s convincing 3-0 win over Falkirk.

Rohl will get a first-hand view of what might have been as in-form midfielder Josh Mulligan lines up in opposition after being touted for a Scotland call-up – and claims of enquiries from Leeds United and Nottingham Forest – having joined Hibs from Dundee this summer amid reports of interest from Rangers.

It would be no surprise if Mikey Moore, who was bright off the bench in Hungary, was handed a start by Rohl given the on-loan Tottenham Hotspur winger has scored in both of his past two Premiership games.

At the back, the German expects to be able to call on the services of Nasser Djiga for the last time until next month as the centre-half heads to the Africa Cup of Nations with Burkina Faso.

Just as well considering the lack of options with John Souttar and Derek Cornelius injured.

While Rohl was angry at the goals conceded in Hungary, Rangers have kept four clean sheets in their past six league matches, as many as their previous 28.

Hibs, meanwhile, are still waiting to hear if key centre-back Rocky Bushiri (DR Congo), left-back Jordan Obita (Uganda) and midfielder Miguel Chaiwa (Zambia) will be given permission by their national associations to play on Monday.

Claudio Braga had suffered a frustrating five-game barren spell that had coincided with Celtic closing the gap with Hearts at the top of the Premiership.

However, he sprung back to life with a vengeance at Celtic Park last weekend, pouncing on hesitancy in defence to prod in the opening goal in a 2-1 win that re-established a three-point lead for Derek McInnes’ side over the reigning champions.

The Portuguese 26-year-old has now scored more away goals in the Premiership this season than any other player, with five of his seven strikes in the competition coming on the road.

With one assist in addition, he is just one goal involvement behind fellow Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland and Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise – and McInnes’ will be hoping the summer purchase from unheralded Norwegian club Aalesunds can kick on again after his vital goal in Glasgow.

It was key to only a second win in seven outings, albeit Hearts also only lost one, and he and Scotland international Shankland could again be key against a Falkirk side who will be trying to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Hibs that ended their own five-game unbeaten run.

Indeed, John McGlynn’s hosts have not lost in six home games, although only two of those were victories, and beat Hearts on their most recent visit just over a year ago – 2-0 in the League Cup at a time when they were a Championship side.

Already four points adrift of visitors Dundee at the foot of the table, Saturday’s is a game Livingston can little afford to lose if they are to retain hopes of avoiding at the very least a play-off to avoid relegation.

David Martindale seems to be in with the bricks at Almondvale, so there is less speculation about his future than there is about visiting head coach Steven Pressley or Stuart Kettlewell, whose Kilmarnock side are also in freefall and level on points with Dundee.

However, Livingston’s manager is increasingly looking a forlorn and frustrated, even resigned, figure as he prepares to enter his sixth year as manager.

No wonder after 14 games without a win and three defeats in a row, culiminating in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat in Motherwell.

Yet only Celtic and Hibernian, two other top-five sides, have also beaten Livingston by more than a single goal during that run.

Dundee have won their latest four meetings, including their two visits to West Lothian two seasons ago – and by 3-2 in the reverse fixture at Dens Park in September.

However, Martindale is unlikely to change tactics that have resulted in only leaders Heart of Midlothian registering more high turnovers in the Premiership this season than Livingston.

Especially as no side has faced more goal attempts following high turnovers against them in the division this term than Dundee (level with Falkirk).

Indeed, Pressley’s side are themselves on a dismal run of one victory in seven, losing the other six, and have lost six in a row on the road – their worst run since 2005 – and failed to score in the latest four.

That should give Martindale some hope that his side, who have had the worst top-flight start since Falkirk in 2009-10, can record only their second league win of the season and narrow that gap at the bottom.