Can Celtic Make it Five Scottish Premiership Titles in a Row?
Russell Martin is the latest man tasked with trying to end the Celtic stranglehold on the Scottish Premiership. The former MK Dons and Southampton boss has now taken the Ibrox hot seat, with Rangers aiming to finish above their Old Firm rivals next season.
The Gers finished seventeen points off the pace set by Brendan Rodgers’ side last term. It’s a big gap to bridge this time around, with the blue half of Glasgow only able to muster seventy-five points from their thirty-eight games played. They did manage to score eighty-one goals although sixteen of their matches ended in a draw or defeat.
There’s been a relative squad overhaul at Ibrox, with Oscar Cortes, Thelo Aasgaard and Emmanuel Fernandez among the new arrivals at the club. Martin is renowned for playing a possession-based attractive style of football, although the supporters will simply want to see results on the pitch and especially in the Old Firm games.
The Gers are trading at around the 3.00 mark to reclaim the title that they last won in the 2020-21 season. On that occasion, Steven Gerrard managed to steer his side to an unbeaten campaign although it is looking increasingly like a one-off and there have now been four consecutive successes for Celtic.
The top betting sites think the Bhoys have a 70% chance of being champions again next term. Brendan Rodgers has the winning formula at Celtic Park and they enjoyed a seventeen-point margin of victory over their rivals last term. The Northern Irishman is a quality coach and he will have a strong team of players domestically once again.
Kieran Tierney has arrived back at the club after being released by Arsenal, with Benjamin Nygren having also signed from Nordsjaelland. Kasper Schmeichel is a safe pair of hands between the sticks, with Hayato Inamura, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Reo Hatate among the quality operators within the ranks.
Much might come down to the head-to-head meetings between Celtic and Rangers. If Martin can engineer some positive results in the Old Firm derbies, it will be automatically help to close the gap between the two sides. However, one feels as though the manager might need at least one season to start building something at Ibrox, whereas his opposite number has cemented his place in the dugout.
Hearts are the third favourites with the football bookies and could challenge Rangers if the latter are found wanting. The Edinburgh side finished seventh in the Scottish Premiership last season and actually lost more games than they won last term. However, they are expected to make strides this time around, with Derek McInnes tasked with improving matters on the pitch.
Hibernian and Aberdeen are next in the betting, with the latter having famously landed a Scottish Cup win last time out. The Dons might need a miracle if they are going to be in the title race, with Hibs also likely to be competing for third place at best.
Scottish Premiership Outright Winner Odds - bet365
Celtic 1.40
Rangers 3.00
Hearts 26.00
Hibernian 67.00
Aberdeen 81.00
See all teams and betting odds.
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