The first big Old Firm derby in the league in five years has provided no end of pre-match analysis.

Ex-players have had their say, pundits have provided their insight, a few irresponsible stories have highlighted the potential for explosive behaviour, and there has been the inevitable one-upmanship from both sides.

Our stat zone has never been especially interested in such point scoring (unless, of course, you can put those points in a spreadsheet). We do, however, want to take every opportunity to analyse some of the key factors in the match.

One such variable is the referee. There are few matches in Europe where the man in the middle comes under such scrutiny as in an Old Firm derby. For this weekend's match, it will be Willie Collum in charge.

All referees have their work cut out in Old Firm matches. Tensions are high, much is at stake, and it doesn't take much for players to lose their focus. The potential for flashpoints on the pitch is high - there have been three penalties and six red cards in the last ten league matches between Celtic and Rangers.

So what of Collum's record? No referee has awarded more penalties (32) or shown more red cards (26) than Collum in the three years of the Scottish Premiership.

Only Steven McLean comes close, with 20 penalty awards and 13 red cards. He also makes those calls with significantly more frequency than any other referee. It's a big match for the man in the middle.

Kilmarnock turned in their finest performance of the season in the draw with Rangers, looking defensively solid, dangerous in wide positions and seizing almost complete control of midfield areas for at least the first hour. Could it be that Lee Clark has found his balance?

If there's been one thing Kilmarnock have missed in recent years it's consistency. No club have fielded more players than Killie in the Premiership years (69), and no team has used more than the Rugby Park side this season (20).

Furthermore, eleven of those 20 players only made their league debut for Killie this term. A further four players have played less than 20 league matches each.

As we saw with Dundee United last season, experience counts for an awful lot, and there will be added expectation on the likes of Jamie MacDonald, Kris Boyd and Steven Smith if Killie are to build on their solid performance a fortnight ago.

Of all the clubs we try to track stats on, Partick Thistle are the hardest to predict or make sense of.

When they were first promoted, they were very good at possession football, but couldn't turn that dominance into results. When they reverted to a more counter-attacking game, they found goals, but struggled with game management. Last season they had a fine defensive record, but lacked creativity. Balance has been difficult.

In theory, Thistle should be challenging further up the table. On average, they create more shooting opportunities than the likes of Motherwell, St Johnstone and Ross County, and not significantly less than the likes of Inverness or Hearts.

Converting chances remains something of an issue, and turning draws into victories is a major problem - no manager has drawn more games in the Scottish Premiership than Alan Archibald (34).