The Scottish Premiership is the top tier and is followed by millions of passionate football fans each and every week. It contains a small group of teams who face one another four times across the course of the regular season which begins in August and typically concludes at the end of April/Start of May.
The division splits into two sections during the latter half of the campaign with the top six competing for European spots whilst the remaining six teams scrap to avoid relegation to the Scottish Championship. This is a relatively new addition to the league and although it hasn’t gone down well with all of the footballing fraternity, it adds some much needed excitement and drama to the closing stages of the season.
The league has typically been dominated by the two Glasgow sides, Celtic and Rangers. These two sides are located in fairly close proximity to one another and there is always plenty of rivalry between fans and players whenever they meet for the ‘Old Firm derby’.
The champions will enter the Champions League qualifying rounds whilst the two teams directly below will qualify to compete in UEFA’s secondary competition – the Europa League.
Prediction Report
Given their recent success, it’s unsurprising to see Celtic as the overwhelming favourites with the best UK bookmakers. They have a high probability of winning the title for the eighth consecutive season and they have been extremely well-backed despite the prohibitive odds. Despite being the favourites, they have genuine rivals in the shape of Rangers who are rejuvenated under new manager Steven Gerrard.
Rangers weren’t given much chance at the beginning of the season with just a probability of 11.11% and that has slightly risen to 11.76% as of December 5th. This is due to Ranger’s fast start to the campaign and although they’ve already been defeated by Celtic this season, they still remain above their bitter rivals going into the hectic festive period.
It is Steven Gerrard’s first season in charge and that could be part of the reason for the lack of faith in the Gers this campaign. Celtic always seem to find a way of coming out on top and history suggests that the Bhoys will eventually move clear at the top of the table and wrap up yet another title.
Aberdeen are the only other side who were given any chance of success this season although their probability was a lowly 5.88% at the beginning of the season and their odds reflected their role as outsiders. Their chances have reduced as the season has progressed due to the fact they’ve taken just 21 points from their opening 13 matches this campaign. Hearts have slowly crept into the picture after a positive start and they are currently given a 0.50% chance of finishing top of the pile this year although their 2-1 defeat to Rangers was potentially damaging.
Last Season
As we’ve already discussed, Celtic have been truly dominant in recent years and this is mainly down to their financial clout. They are able to spend more than many of their rivals and they were victorious yet again during the 2017-18 season.
They were nine points clear of second place Aberdeen at the end of the season, having scored 73 times in 38 matches and conceded on just 25 occasions. Rangers ended the campaign in third, three points behind the men from Pittodrie. It was another one sided campaign but despite the probability suggesting another whitewash, it looks set to be far more exciting this time around.
