By Thom Watt

Another weekend of Scottish football action is upon us, and Thom Watt is back to highlight five things to keep an eye on.

Partick Thistle face Aberdeen in Friday night's game, as the Dons look to bounce back after the defeat to Inverness CT earlier this week.

League-leaders Celtic host Inverness CT on Saturday, with Dundee United up against Hearts as they look to salvage their season.

Lee Clarke takes charge of his first game as Kilmarnock manager, as the Ayrshire club host Dundee - whilst Ross County are up against Hamilton.

And St Johnstone face Motherwell at McDiarmid Park as they attempt to end their dismal run.

After an active transfer window, Hearts look to have strengthened in January, despite losing Osman Sow to China. The additions of Don Cowie and Abiola Dauda provide experience and steel, while John Souttar’s switch from Dundee United ensured the capture of one of the country’s highest rated youngsters.

The Hearts squad has goals in it from all over the pitch. It’s not simply a case of there being players capable of popping up with the odd goal, there are a variety of consistent threats throughout the squad. There are 11 Hearts players who have scored at least twice this season, and only Celtic can boast more.

Calum Paterson, who usually operates at right-back, has five league goals this season, which would be enough to make him Hamilton’s top scorer. As if to further underline the point, Hearts’ last five league matches have seen 14 goals scored by nine different players.

It’s very difficult to tell what kind of season Partick Thistle are having. Intermittent runs of form have been disrupted by long periods without victories, and while Alan Archibald’s side could easily take a place in the top six, they’ve never managed to pull clear of the playoff spots. Thistle are the lowest scorers in the league, but only the top three have a better defence.

The main reasons for the defensive solidity is the lack of chances Partick Thistle concede, and the fact they have a reliable goalkeeper. Thistle have conceded just 94 shots to their opponents this term, less than any other side in the bottom half of the table. Even when they are giving up chances, they’ve got a goalkeeper in fine form.

Of goalkeepers who have played at least ten games, only Danny Ward has saved a higher percentage of the shots they’ve faced. Cerny has also secured eight clean sheets, a record that can only be bettered by Ward (10), Neil Alexander (10) and Craig Gordon (9).

The Premiership may not even be three years old, but Friday’s game between Partick Thistle and Aberdeen should herald the first centurion since the rebranding of the Scottish top flight.

Graeme Shinnie of Aberdeen is currently on 99 Premiership appearances - all of them starts - in the Scottish Premiership. Shinnie played 73 time for Inverness in the top flight, and has made 26 appearances for Aberdeen so far this campaign. For a full-back he has also contributed significantly going forward, scoring six times and providing 17 assists.

Many predicted that St Johnstone would struggle this season, but a fine start to the campaign saw them surpass last season’s goals total before the turn of the year, playing some exhilarating attacking football. The forward line of Maclean, O’Halloran, Wotherspoon and Cummins were scoring and providing opportunities with abandon, and they seemed on track to at least last season’s fine finish.

Since the turn of the year they have struggled. The defence has been an issue since the opening day of the campaign, and now that their relentlessly ruthless attack seems slightly blunted, Tommy Wright’s side are struggling for form, finally dropping out of the top six positions this week.

Part of the reason for that is simply that they are reverting to the mean. Earlier in the season St Johnstone were converting an unsustainably high number of chances. Now they are creating the same number of chances, but are converting at an average rate, meaning their goals have dried up.

It is something of a concern. After taking 16 from a possible 18 points at the end of last year, St Johnstone have taken just two from a possible 21 in their last seven matches. With the sides behind them starting to pick up some semblance of form, now would be a good time to regain their ruthlessness in front of goal.

Stephen Thompson made his unhappiness clear at Dundee United’s 3-0 capitulation to Motherwell during the week, and while his frustrations may be justified, the motivational qualities of such comments are questionable.

Despite requiring to overturn a record-breaking 13 point deficit, the nature of the Scottish Premiership means that such a divide isn’t entirely impossible. Unlikely, yes, but with direct matches against immediate rivals, post split, it is possible to recover ground relatively quickly.

Things had appeared to be looking up, prior to the Motherwell game. While Mixu Paatelainen hadn’t managed to get the consistency of results that he would have liked, his side were beginning to impose themselves on matches.

Shorn of the kinds of players who can really hurt teams of the counter attack – Mackay-Steven, Armstrong, Ciftci et al – United had to rethink their strategy, and Paatalainen’s packed midfield seemed to be bearing some fruit.

The victory over Kilmarnock marked the first time in 15 matches that Dundee United had the majority of possession, hinting at a slower, more deliberate style, which suited the squad, as opposed to McNamara’s fast-paced counter attacking. How will the squad react to criticism when they face a seemingly insurmountable task?