With the Scottish Premier League taking a well deserved breather this weekend to accommodate international fixtures across Europe, fantasy football players across the country will have an extended period to mull over the selections for the following week’s action. Celtic will be taking on Hearts at Celtic Park as they look to build on their dramatic win over Kilmarnock last time around and extend their lead at the top of the table. They could see the margin between themselves and Aberdeen stretch to seven points, albeit perhaps briefly with the Dons taking on Hamilton early on Sunday afternoon.

Celtic’s motivation to develop a larger gap between themselves and the chasing pack may well mean that goals could be aplenty on Saturday. The likes of Lee Griffith and Colin Kazim-Richards will be looking to return to goal scoring ways, and inflict further damage on Hearts who lie in third position in the table. Aberdeen meanwhile find themselves once again facing a mountain to climb having lost out to Motherwell last time around, and now face off against a Hamilton side struggling for consistency under Martin Canning. Adam Rooney has been in sparkling form this campaign with nineteen league goals, and with Aberdeen’s excellent home form, you would certainly not back against the Englishman to find the back of the net.

Celtic may have one eye on their upcoming Scottish Cup clash with arch rivals Rangers in just a few weeks time, but will certainly still field a strong looking team as they look to take a giant step towards the title. Just three games remain for the reigning champions before the league separates into two, and they will be hopeful of holding a substantial lead by the time this occurs. The Cup semi final against Rangers is causing quite a stir in Scotland, as attention is once again on Scottish football’s most famous clubs. Having last met over a year ago, both managers will be keen to play down the nature of such a fixture, however for supporters, it’s split opinions on past derby matches involving the two mean that a great sceptical awaits at Hampden Park whatever the result. For those of you who enjoy a football bet, Rangers are 4/1 on with Coral to defeat Celtic and go on to claim Scottish Cup glory.

All Premiership teams will be keeping their fingers crossed that their prized assets return from international duty in one piece. Scotland take on Czech Republic and Denmark over the break, with Gordon Strachan’s men looking to prove that they can challenge their European rivals before heading into qualification for the next World Cup.