Scottish FA confirm referee appointments as Celtic and Rangers look to return to winning ways in Premiership
Celtic and Rangers are looking to bounce back from their disappointment in Europe
The Scottish FA have confirmed their full list of referee appointments for this weekend’s crucial round of Scottish Premiership fixtures.
Both Old Firm clubs are looking for a reaction after a week to forget in Europe.
Scottish champions Celtic were hammered 7-1 in a weak display against last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund. The team’s lack of organisation defensively came as a something of a surprise after their run of six consecutive clean sheets in the league and will be something that Brendan Rodgers will be desperate to resolve.
Elsewhere, Rangers, who needed a penalty save to beat Hibs last time out in the league, also struggled in Europe and were humbled 4-1 in a tough contest against a clinical Lyon side.
Celtic resume their league campaign with an away trip to a Ross County side that have won just one of their opening seven matches. The referee for the game will be Kevin Clancy and he is accompanied by two assistants in David McGeachie and Gordon McCabe. Video Assistant Referee duo Nick Walsh and Alan Mulvanny will also be on hand to deal with any controversial calls throughout the contest.
Rangers play host to strugglers St Johnstone in a match which comes just a week after they scraped a 1-0 victory over Hibs, with Jack Butland making the decisive penalty save. The game marks the first match of ex-Motherwell midfielders Simo Valakari time in the dugout after his decision to leave Latvian champions Riga FC.
The referee for the contest at Ibrox will be David Dickinson and he works alongside assistant referees Jonathan Bell and Chris Rae. Video Assistant Referee duo Steven McLean and Dougie Potter have been appointed to oversee proceedings in Glasgow.
Rangers are currently trailing Celtic by five points in this year’s title race as they aim to pick up all three points against a team with just one win from their opening seven games.
Celtic are top of the league with a 100 percent record and are yet to concede a league goal since Kasper Schmeichel's arrival at Parkhead. The Hoops will be confident of their chances heading into the match but will need to be wary of the threat of high-flying Aberdeen as they aim to ramp up the pressure in their match against bottom club Hearts.
Aberdeen are currently the only club in Europe’s top 50 leagues to have won every game this season, following Celtic’s defeat in Germany.