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Apologies for the late post, I was holding off as much as possible to see which games will survive the horrific weather conditions in the country today.

 Saturday 19^th December

Scottish Premier League

St Johnstone v St Mirren

Gus McPherson takes his St Mirren side to MacDiarmid Park to take on St Johnstone in a match that will give the victors some much needed breathing space at the foot of the table.

The home side have earned many plaudits from other clubs managers and supporters for their exciting approach to the game. They have the 5^th highest goals for in the league which is no mean feat for a side who have just been promoted to the top league in Scotland. They have, however, conceded the most amount of goals in the league, with 29, 4 more than any other team. Their cause is not likely to be helped today with Derek McInnes’ missing at least 7 players for today’s match. One of those who is definitely out of the game is Collin Samuel. The striker is not only his teams top scorer, he’s also arguably their most important player. He leads the line well and gives them the option to go in behind with his pace.

St Mirren have struggled for wins off late, with none in their last 6 league matches. It’s a bit of surprise that they have struggled as much lately, especially after comfortable wins over Hearts and Falkirk in October. They have missed their talisman Andy Dorman in recent weeks as the Welsh International has picked up a long term injury. His absence has taken away a lot of the creativity from the St Mirren side. The emphasis for McPherson’s side is now more on getting the ball up earlier to their physical strikers, Michael Higdon and Billy Mehmet. Both were troublesome for the Falkirk defence last week, with the former netting a spectacular goal in the 1-1 draw.

The spoils were shared when these sides last met back in September. The parks were far better than what they are now, the players were fresher and there was still a surprise element to St Johnstone’s style of play. 3 month’s on, the parks are beginning to cut up, the  squads are  suffering from injuries and suspension and there is the suspicion that other teams are becoming wise to McInnes’ tactics. This is highlighted by a defeat to Kilmarnock in their last home match. Killie, much like St Mirren, were coming off the back of a poor run of form and their style of play is very similar to that of Gus McPherson’s side. With that in mind, and with the amount of key players the home side are missing, I just feel that St Mirren have the knack of winning against teams in and around them, especially when they’re not playing too well.

My selection: St Mirren to beat St Johnstone

Best odds available: 9/4 available with several bookmakers including Coral

English League 1

Norwich v Huddersfield

A match between these two sides at this time of year has all the makings of a Christmas cracker as Paul Lambert’s 3^rd placed City play host to 5^th placed Town.

Paul Lambert has transformed the fortunes of the Carrow road side since his appointment in August. He has got the team playing exciting and productive football which has catapulted them up the league table, sitting comfortably within the play-off positions and with a real chance of automatic promotion. He has built his side around his captain, Grant Holt. The prolific striker has already notched 13 goals this season since his move from Shrewsbury in the summer. It’s not just goals which Holt brings to the side; he is an excellent team player. He holds the ball up, he links up well with the midfield and is always willing to work back to help out his defenders. His performances, coupled with the consistent displays by his team-mates, have resulted in only 1 defeat in 16 league matches. This is a staggering run of form at any time in any league, but it’s even more impressive when it’s a new manager in such a fiercely competitive league.

I’ve previewed Huddersfield several times already this season so I think we all know what I think of them. I am a big fan of their attacking philosophy both home and away and I fully expect them to be in the promotion shake-up at the end of the season. Lee Clark will know that these games will be the true test of how far his team has come this season as Norwich have only lost 1 game at home all season, and that was under former manager Bryan Gunn. Town have let themselves down on the road this season, picking up just 8 points from a possible 30. They will know that they have to improve on their travels, sooner rather than later.

Having watched both sides on a couple of occasions this term, I think this will be an open match with more than a couple of goals and both sides scoring. The managers are attacking by nature and set their teams up to win games. Huddersfield showed a couple of weeks ago when drawing 2-2 at Elland Road that they are able to give anyone a game, home or away. Norwich, however, are very strong at home and I just think that Holt and Chris Martin will pose too much of a threat to a porous Huddersfield defence.

My selection:  Norwich to beat Huddersfield

Best odds available: 11/10 available with several bookmakers including Bet365

Sunday 20^th December

Scottish Premier League

Hearts v Celtic

This fixture has proved to be problematic for Celtic in recent times as they never get it easy when travelling to Tynecastle to take on suspension and injury ravaged Hearts.

Hearts have had a disastrous start to the season and currently find themselves in 8^th position, 6 points off of the bottom and 20 points off top spot. Their discipline has once again let them down, especially recently. They have had 3 red cards in the last 4 matches which has been extremely detrimental to their fortunes and results. They have only picked up 1 win in 9 league games which is basically relegation form in any league. For tomorrow’s match, they will be missing Ian Black and Suso Santana who are both suspended whilst Christian Nade is also set to miss out due to injury. This will likely mean a start for fit again Calum Elliot upfront which will mean even more reliance on their midfielders to get forward in support.

Celtic have turned their season around in recent weeks with 5 games unbeaten and some very encouraging performances in the process. 3 home wins in a row was followed by a come from behind victory away to Motherwell and then most recently on Thursday night, they secured a morale boosting 3-3 draw in Europe, despite being 3-0 down inside 20 minutes. In all 5 of these matches they have demonstrated a strong resolve as well as a will to win which was sadly lacking in some games at the start of the season. A lot of this will be down to a settled team, especially in the centre of the pitch. Marc Crosas has formed a very decent partnership with Landry N’Guemo in midfield whilst Gary Caldwell and Glenn Loovens are settled at the back as are Scott McDonald and Girgios Samaras upfront. This consistency has meant more impressive performances and improved confidence in the side. One man pushing for a start is Marc-Antoine Fortune. The £3.8m striker has scored 3 in his last 2 so will be hoping to dislodge Samaras, especially as the Greek is struggling with injury.

These games are very competitive and the midfield will play a big part for both sides. Aiden McGeady, despite being in danger of missing the derby match in January, will most likely play and he is in excellent form. He creates chances and has added goals in recent months, with 5 already in the league. Hearts have been very poor of late, but it would not be a surprise to anyone if they turn in a strong performance tomorrow. Even still, Celtic are in good form and will always score goals, with their increased confidence and key players finding form, I fancy them to win tomorrow.

My selection: Celtic to beat Hearts

Best odds available: 4/6 available with Totesport

Good Luck and Merry Christmas