With just a handful of rounds played in the Scottish Premiership this season, pressure is already mounting on several managers as clubs prepare for a busy midweek schedule of fixtures, capped by a Edinburgh derby that arrives just before Thursday's transfer deadline.
Celtic sit two points clear at the top of the table having won every league game bar a heavy 5-1 defeat away to LASK that cost them Champions League football. Interim boss Martin O'Neill missed last month's victory over Kilmarnock following a minor medical procedure, and Saturday's unconvincing 2-1 win over Falkirk did little to silence supporters unhappy with the club's summer transfer business. Assistant Shaun Maloney fronted media duties in his absence this week. Celtic host Aberdeen, against whom they have not lost in 14 home meetings and won all three encounters last season, though Aberdeen did claim the 2025 Scottish Cup on penalties. Dons boss Stephen Robinson, who kept his side away from relegation trouble last season and started this campaign strongly, will be targeting an unlikely away win after Sunday's home defeat to Rangers, with Aberdeen winless in 15 league trips.
At Dens Park, Dundee host St Johnstone with Steven Pressley looking to end a poor personal record against the Perth side, having lost all three previous meetings while in charge of Falkirk. Pressley admitted he could not "find the right solutions" after Sunday's loss to Hibernian ended a six-match winning run at home. St Johnstone, managed by Simo Valakari, have won just once in their last ten meetings with Dundee and arrive on the back of three consecutive away defeats.
Neil McCann appears to be under the most scrutiny among Premiership managers after Kilmarnock's 4-0 home loss to Dundee United followed a 5-1 hammering by Celtic. A derby win over Ayr United in between offered brief respite, but it remains Kilmarnock's only victory in five outings. McCann can take some comfort from two wins over Wednesday's opponents, St Mirren, since taking over in January. St Mirren boss Craig McLeish saw his side held 3-3 by Motherwell after a 5-1 League Cup defeat to Rangers, though prior to that they had gone five away matches unbeaten.
Motherwell's Alfred Johansson faces the least pressure of the bunch but will want to arrest a run of four games without a win, including three losses in a row and five without a home league win when factoring in the end of last season. Dundee United, managed in Jim Goodwin's absence by assistant Lee Sharp, snapped a run without a win by thrashing Kilmarnock and will hope to end a run of five straight away defeats to Motherwell.
At Falkirk, Rangers boss Derek McInnes will look to build on Sunday's narrow win over Aberdeen, which eased some pressure following an underwhelming European campaign. Falkirk, managed by John McGlynn, have lost four of their last five home matches, including heavy defeats to Rangers in recent meetings.
The standout fixture comes on Thursday when Hibernian host Hearts in the capital derby. Both sides impressed in Conference League play-offs last week despite Hibs' late collapse against Gent. David Gray's Hibernian bounced back with a win over Dundee, while Wouter Vrancken's Hearts remain unbeaten in six matches following an opening slump. A third straight derby win for Hearts would extend Hibernian's home losing streak to five, a first since 2010.
Several new faces could feature across the round, including Celtic loanee Oliver Sorensen, Dundee United loan signing Lyall Cameron, and Dylan Levitt, who arrives at Motherwell from Leyton Orient.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.