Former Ross County match assessor and scout Stuart Millar, who recently accepted a new post as chief scout for West Brom in Scotland, casts his eye over this week’s League Cup quarter-finals.
Rangers v St Johnstone – Tuesday, 7.15pm (live on BBC Scotland)
The biggest factor in this tie is that Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd have started to score goals for the Ibrox side. The last time I saw Rangers they lost to Hibs but their season has been going very positively since then.
Rangers will view this game as a chance to show they can compete at Premiership level, as they did in the last round against Inverness Caley Thistle. They showed that night they can knock out top-flight opponents and they could do so again.
St Johnstone approach this game on a disappointing run but their last win was in the League Cup when they defeated Kilmarnock 1-0 at Rugby Park and that will give them confidence for this game.
The Perth side have struggled for goals, as any team would when you lose Stevie May, who went to Sheffield Wednesday, and Stevie MacLean, who is injured. James McFadden has come in and there is no doubt he is quality but he needs to time to get up to speed.
Alan Mannus is a very good goalkeeper and the central defenders Steven Anderson and Frazer Wright are a good pairing in the Premiership. Having Murray Davidson back from a long-term injury is a boost to them as well. St Johnstone can win this tie but I believe Rangers will come out on top by the odd goal as they are scoring goals and that breeds confidence.
Aberdeen v Hamilton Accies – Wednesday, 7.45pm
I will start with Hamilton Accies as I watched them at Dundee on Saturday. They lost 2-0 but were unlucky in a game that could have gone either way. Manager Alex Neil (pictured) has put together an enjoyable side to watch and Dougie Imrie has done well since going back to the club from Morton.
He was the best player on the park, just ahead of goalkeeper Michael McGovern, who I know well from our time together at Ross County. I also really like Mickey Devlin, who is a promising young player and one of the best prospects in the country.
The Dons are not firing on all cylinders and it is a surprise to me that Adam Rooney is not starting every game. David Goodwillie is a threat and if Niall McGinn can recapture his form of the past couple of years then I will be wrong in that assessment.
Hamilton have been the more consistent side this season and, of course, beat Aberdeen 3-0 recently. On their day Derek McInnes’ team can beat anyone in the country - I reckon they will have a good day against Hamilton and win by one goal.
Celtic v Partick Thistle – Wednesday, 7.45pm
I have seen Celtic twice in the last week, once in Europe and once in the Premiership, and in both games their opponents, Astra and Kilmarnock, had good spells.
Killie were well in the game until Manuel Pascali got sent off but again Celtic found a way to win even though they were missing Kris Commons, as they had in the Europa League. When Commons plays, Celtic play as he causes problems in the hole just behind the strikers.
Adam Matthews is back from injury and that is a boost, as is the form of John Guidetti. Celtic are a side heading in the right direction on the back on of a decent set of results but there is more to come.
Partick Thistle have done OK this season and they have a chance at Celtic Park. This is a big game for the Jags and a big game for a couple of players in their side – goalkeeper Scott Fox and full-back Stephen O’Donnell.
They were with Celtic from a young age and will see this game as a chance to show up well at their former club. They will need to play well to compensate for the loss of Kallum Higginbotham through injury as he has been a huge player for Alan Archibald’s side in the past year.
Ryan Stevenson has still to hit the form he showed for Hearts and has dropped to the bench. I would have thought that he would be a regular starter and he may come back for this tie due to the experience he has.
Thistle are a well organised side and their manager will have them looking to hit on the break but I reckon Celtic will win by a couple of goals.
Hibernian v Dundee United – Wednesday, 7.45pm
This is the game I am heading to and it should be an exciting one. I watched Hibs win 4-0 at Livingston a week past Saturday and I thought it was a very strong performance. I was very impressed by Scott Allan, who is getting back to the form that earned him a move to West Brom from Dundee United.
David Gray is the best full-back Hibs have had in years, Dylan McGeouch is a real talent in midfield and Jason Cummings is a very dangerous player. Hibs will make the play-offs at the end of the season and I reckon they can knock Dundee United out.
The Tannadice side started really well but have stuttered at times since then and they will be glad to have Paul Paton back for this game. They missed him against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday when they lost 1-0.
United have not been able to replace Andy Robertson but when they are on fire they are the most exciting team in the country. Hibs are due a bit of good luck after losing such a late goal to Hearts and there is a chance of an upset at Easter Road if they get that good fortune.
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