DUNFERMLINE’S recent improvement has seen them rise to third in the Championship but they face a decent test of their credentials when they travel to Dens Park on Saturday.

Opponents Dundee have taken just one point from their last four matches and as a consequence sit three points below the Pars. The bookmakers have installed Dundee as marginal favourites to make home advantage count: the Dark Blues are 11/8, the Pars 21/10 (Bet365/Hills) and a draw 12/5 (Skybet).

There is no doubt the layers have factored in each side’s current run of results so we are left with a tricky puzzle in determining whether that form is reliable enough to take at face value. A point for Dunfermline would be a decent return from this fixture and Dundee do not appear good enough at present to deny them.

Prediction: Dundee 1 Dunfermline 1.

Third meets second in the one live Premiership match this weekend (Sky Sports Football, Sunday 12pm) but the bookies do not predict a close affair. Rangers are 4/9 (Betway) to come away from Lanarkshire with the three points, Motherwell are 13/2 (Coral) and it is 4/1 that the spoils are shared. Using a -1 handicap, the Gers are a shade of odds against at 21/20; Well are 21/10 (Spreadex) and a tie 3/1.

Celtic host Hibernian in the other Sunday game (3pm) and are 1/5 to emerge victorious; Hibs are 15/1 (Betfair Sportsbook) and a stalemate is 13/2 (Betway). The Bhoys are 6/4 (Paddy Power) with a -2 handicap; the Hi-Bees are 7/5 (Betway) and a tie is 31/10 (Betvictor).

The Bhoys have qualified for the next round in the Europa League and moreover are guaranteed to top their group. This renders their last match in Romania meaningless (BT Sport, tonight, Thursday, 5.55pm) and it is a matter of conjecture what team they will put out. The prices are CFR Cluj 23/20, a draw 23/10 (Betfred) and Celtic 29/10 (Betfair Sportsbook).

Rangers, however, are embroiled in a desperately tight section where all four teams have a chance of qualifying heading into the last round of matches. The Gers must avoid defeat to Young Boys of Bern to make the cut (BT Sport, tonight, 8pm) and the odds for this crucial fixture are Rangers 17/20, a draw 3/1 (Betfred) and Young Boys 16/5.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is announced on Sunday (BBC1, 7pm) but if the bookmakers’ prices are to be believed then the outcome is a formality. Cricketer Ben Stokes is the 1/7 favourite to receive the accolade, Dina Asher-Smith is 14/1, Lewis Hamilton 22/1, Raheem Sterling 25/1, Alun Wyn-Jones 33/1 and Katrina Johnson-Thompson 100/1. There is a ‘betting without Stokes’ market where the prices for the other contenders are Asher-Smith 5/4, Wyn-Jones 9/4, Hamilton 4/1, Sterling 7/1 (Bet365) and Johnson-Thompson 40/1 (Boylesports).