Buddies aim to halt Bhoys

St Mirren will be looking to surprise Celtic as they try to pull away from bottom-of-the-table Dundee United.

United pulled within five points of the Paisley side with their impressive draw against Rangers last week and are showing signs of turning the corner.

Manager Alex Smith is leaning towards using versatile midfielder Jamie Buchan as a replacement for suspended Jim Lauchlan at Hearts.

Smith has a few options open to him and both Hasney Aljofree and David Partridge could partner Jason de Vos in central defence.

However, with Craig Easton set to return to central midfield after serving a ban, Smith has hinted Buchan will be the man who drops back.

"Jamie has done well in the middle of the defence when I've asked him to play there, so he is definitely in my thoughts," admitted Smith.

As well as Lauchlan being out for two games, Argentine striker Beto Naveda is now certain to miss out because of the twisted knee he picked up against Rangers.