THE PARS and Queen of the South are currently outside the play-offs but their meeting on Saturday offers the opportunity to close in on Morton or Dundee United who also play one another this weekend.

The Pars are 11/10 (Coral/Betvictor) to nail the three points, the Doonhamers are 11/4 (Bet365) and a stalemate that would not help either side, 5/2 (Betway).

Dunfermline matches against fellow promotion hopefuls have been tight affairs as of late and anyone backing the draw has been making hay; those punters could be onto another winner at the conclusion of this encounter.

Prediction: Dunfermline 1 Queen of the South 1.

Rangers’ stranglehold on second place in the Premiership is loosening after two successive defeats and Motherwell will want to inflict further misery on them in their quest to be in the top six prior to the split in three games' time. The match is being televised on BT Sport (Saturday 12.30pm) and the Gers are 3/4 (Betfair Sportsbook) to bounce back to winning ways, the ’Well are 4/1 and a stalemate 14/5. Heart of Midlothian travel to struggling Dundee on Sunday (Sky Sports Football, 12.30pm). The bookies price the contest up fairly equally; the Dark Blues are 17/10 (Skybet), a draw 9/4 and the Jambos 15/8 (Hills).

Celtic are coasting to the title and another three points beckon with a home game against bottom-of-the-table Ross County on Saturday (3pm). The Bhoys are 2/9 (Skybet/Betway), a draw 13/2 (Unibet) and the Staggies 16/1 (Betfair Sportsbook).

The Champions League reaches the quarter-final stage next week but only four teams are considered serious contenders for the title. Barcelona head the outright market at 11/4, Manchester City are 7/2, Bayern Munich 4/1, Real Madrid 9/2, Juventus 12/1, Liverpool 13/1 (Unibet) while both Roma and Sevilla are unconsidered 80/1 shots.

Juventus take on Real Madrid on Tuesday (BT Sport 2, 7.45pm) but it is the Spanish giants that are favourites to prevail; Juve are 9/5, a draw 23/10 (Skybet) and Real 8/5. Real are 8/15 (Betfair Sportsbook) to progress to the semi-finals and Juventus 2/1 (Boylesports).

Sevilla host Bayern Munich in the night’s other game (BT Sport 3, 7.45pm), the odds heavily favouring the Bavarian visitors; Bayern are 3/4, a draw 31/10 (188bet) and Sevilla 39/10 (Unibet). The FCB are as short as 1/6 to triumph over the two legs, whereas the Red and Whites are 9/2.

The all-English battle takes place on Wednesday at Anfield (BT Sport 2, 7.45pm). Manchester City are 7/5 to take a first leg lead back to the Etihad Stadium, a draw is 13/5 (Betvictor) and Liverpool 19/10. The Sky Blues are 1/2 (Betway) to win the tie overall and the Reds 2/1 (Bet365).

Barcelona are predicted to make short work of Roma in the final match (BT Sport 3, 7.45pm); the Catalonians are 1/6 to reach the semi-finals whilst their Italian counterparts are 5/1. The first leg prices are Barca 1/4, a draw 11/2 (Betway) and Roma 12/1.