Scottish Premiership team news, stats & selectors

Aberdeen defender Ross McCrorie is suspended after losing the appeal against his midweek red card. On-loan Ajax goalkeeper Jay Gorter is in contention to be in the squad for the first time after his international clearance came through.

Jack Mackenzie is back in training and could return to the squad.

Motherwell signed Dan Casey on Friday night after fellow Irish defender Shane Blaney was ruled out with a knock. Forward Mikael Mandron (thigh) remains out along with Lennon Miller and Josh Morris plus long-term absentees Jake Carroll (knee), Nathan McGinley, Joe Efford (thigh) and Bevis Mugabi (knee).

Aberdeen interim manager Barry Robson: "People who know me know how I want my teams to play. I want to be aggressive and I want my team to play with a nice style but that takes a lot of time.

"At the minute, we need to stand up and be a team that's hard to beat. If the players give me 100 per cent, I'm happy with that. Then when we get time on the grass, you can start implementing things and making them much better."

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell: "I still believe there is a lot of trust out there but that becomes harder and harder with the performance we saw on Wednesday. That puts the emphasis more on the Aberdeen game.

"There's a couple of players we've looked at and were hoping to get done before the window, so it's not that we've come out and panicked. Hopefully that's something we can do. But first and foremost we need to be as ready as we can for Aberdeen."

Did you know? Motherwell are winless in 10 league matches (D4 L6), the longest run without a win any side has endured in the 2022-23 Scottish Premiership season.

Hearts hope to have Cammy Devlin and Michael Smith back but the pair face late checks on the injuries that have troubled them over the past week. Peter Haring (concussion), Gary Mackay-Steven (foot), Craig Halkett (knee), Craig Gordon (broken leg), Liam Boyce (knee) and Beni Baningime (knee) are all still out.

Dundee United midfielder Ian Harkes will remain on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Left-back Aziz Behich missed out against Kilmarnock in midweek because of a personal issue and will be given time to return.

Hearts defender Toby Sibbick: "I think you'll see both teams really trying to get the three points so it should be an entertaining game. They gave us a tough game just before Christmas. They're a physical team.

"I've played against (United striker) Steven Fletcher a few times down south in the Championship. He's obviously a very experienced striker who has played at a good level. He's a good aerial threat so it will be a tough match."

Dundee United head coach Liam Fox: "It's very, very tight at the bottom of the league. Is it where we want to be? Absolutely not. But I think there is going to be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

"We just need to make sure we concentrate on the next game, which is another tough one away to Hearts at Tynecastle. We can't start getting nervous or worried about that, we just need to go out and perform."

Did you know? Dundee United have lost each of their last three Scottish Premiership visits to Hearts, conceding 12 goals in the process.

Livingston manager David Martindale has reported no fresh injuries and skipper Nicky Devlin has fully recovered from an illness that affected him in midweek. Tom Parkes (knee) and Jamie Brandon (groin) are still out.

Kilmarnock's Liam Donnelly has had a scan on his knee and is a doubt but Ash Taylor has shrugged off a knock. Chris Stokes and Fraser Murray are back in the squad but Ben Chrisene (knee) and Innes Cameron and Jeriel Dorsett (both hamstring) remain out while loan player Jordan Jones will return to parent club Wigan on completion of paperwork.

Livingston midfielder Sean Kelly: "These are the games that, if we want to aspire to get top six and European football, we ideally need to take some points from.

"We are in a lot stronger position than we were this time last season. At the start of the season we say we want to avoid relegation but within the camp we have bigger aspirations than that, especially on the back of last season. The season has been going pretty well and we look to continue that."

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "In the context [of Kyle Lafferty's sudden exit], I wouldn't have allowed Oli Shaw to go to Barnsley last week. It wasn't announced until Monday at the request of Barnsley.

"The Kyle thing was unfortunate, the timing of it all, and we move on from it. Oli could have signed a pre-contract with another club and seen his contract out but it was a good opportunity for Oli as he hadn't really been playing regularly."

Did you know? Livingston have won each of their last four league games against Kilmarnock; only against Motherwell from December 2001 to December 2002 have Livingston ever won five straight meetings with a particular opponent in the top-flight.

Nicolas Raskin has been cleared to make his Rangers debut following his deadline-day move from Standard Liege. Kemar Roofe could make his comeback from a shoulder injury, although may not be risked until the following week. Ianis Hagi will return after being rested in midweek following his comeback.

John Souttar is training individually as he nears a return from ankle surgery while Tom Lawrence (heel), Rabbi Matondo (knee), Steven Davis (knee), Ridvan Yilmaz (hamstring) and Filip Helander (foot) remain out.

Ross County could hand a debut to Wigan winger Gwion Edwards following his loan arrival. Midfielder Nohan Kenneh returns to the squad after missing the midweek draw with parent club Hibernian while long-term absentees Ben Purrington (ankle) and Ben Paton (knee) remain out.

Rangers manager Michael Beale: "I think Malky [Mackay] does a really, really good job. His team try to play the right way. He has used the loan market and the free market really well and brought some interesting players into the league.

"It must have been really difficult for him to lose [Regan] Charles-Cooke and [Joseph] Hungbo at the end of last season but he seems to have recruited well. They have always given us a difficult game at Ibrox."

Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "Coming off the back of the last few results, we are looking forward to going down there.

"When you go to play the Old Firm, you have to go into it with a sense of belief and conviction because, if not, you will be beaten before you go down the tunnel.

"You have got to make sure you go into that with every confidence you have. That stands you in good stead."

Did you know? Rangers have never lost in 18 previous top-flight league games against Ross County (W14 D4).

St Mirren striker Jonah Ayunga is out for at least six months with a knee injury which requires surgery. Defender Richard Tait remains sidelined with a groin problem.

Hibs could hand a debut to Matthew Hoppe after the American striker joined on loan from Middlesbrough this week. Jake Doyle-Hayes returns after a three-game injury absence but Kevin Nisbet (hamstring), Kyle Magennis (muscle), Rocky Bushiri (ankle), Mykola Kukharevych (knee) and Martin Boyle (knee) are all out.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "We have played them twice and know what we are going to come up against and it is about continuing the performances and level of application and quality that we showed against Aberdeen.

"We just solely concentrate on us, get as many points as we can and see where that takes us. We won't get too carried away."

Hibernian defender Paul Hanlon: "We've taken a bit of a battering sometimes from all angles when we've not performed well but I feel like we're rejuvenated now and we're all together, working hard.

"Looking at our stats from the last couple of games, the running distances are through the roof. We've brought in good characters, especially Jimmy Jeggo who has come in and made a big difference. He's a really positive guy, a good team player. I'm sure we'll go from strength to strength."

Did you know? St Mirren remain unbeaten in 11 home league matches (W7 D4), while only Celtic (36) and Rangers (32) have more home points in this season's Scottish Premiership than the Buddies (25).

St Johnstone's on-loan left-back Adam Montgomery is ineligible against his parent club. Saints have no fresh injuries, with forward Chris Kane still out.

Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston and reserve goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist are unavailable.

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "Sometimes if you get Celtic on their day, they are very good. Hopefully they have an off-day and we are very good ourselves.

"It's not the easiest of pitches to play on. We need to make sure we are ready for that, ready for any mistakes that can happen. I don't think it is a game we can sit in for 90 minutes. They have too much quality in the final third and they will hurt us."

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou (on future of striker Giorgos Giakoumakis): "It will get concluded fairly soon. To be honest, it's not on my radar any more. I will probably hear it about the same time as you guys. Maybe, if you are on Instagram, you will hear about it earlier than me.

"It's not on my radar, I don't expect him back in the group, but it hasn't been finalised yet."

Did you know? St Johnstone are winless in 25 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D3 L22) since a 2-1 league win in May 2016.