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Scottish Premiership season preview: Five predictions & special bets for the new Scottish football season
Graham Ruthven picks out five predictions & best bets for the new Scottish Premiership ahead of the big kick-off this weekend.
At long last, the new Scottish Premiership season is upon us. It’s been nearly four months since a ball was kicked in competition north of the border. Scottish football fans have had to bide their time, but this weekend will see the 2020/21 campaign finally start and there are no shortage of compelling storylines to follow.
For Celtic, this season is all about one thing - clinching the fabled ’10-in-a-row.’ No team has won 10 league titles in succession in Scotland and so Neil Lennon’s side can achieve something historic by doing so this season.
On the flip side, Rangers are merely concerned with stopping their rivals. Can Steven Gerrard’s team sustain a genuine title challenge without suffering a post-winter break collapse like they have in each of the last two seasons?
Here, Graham Ruthven makes five predictions for what he expects to happen over the course of the 2020/21 Scottish Premiership season.
Dundee United to finish in the top six
The off season was certainly more turbulent than Dundee United would have hoped for, with the Tannadice side losing their manager Robbie Neilson just a few weeks after clinching promotion back to the top flight, but in former Tranmere Rovers boss Micky Mellon they have managed to lure a high quality replacement.
United’s fortunes will largely come down to whether they can keep hold of Lawrence Shankland, the Scotland international striker who scored 24 goals in 26 league appearances last season. Behind him, Shankland had Paul McMillan as a supply line, with the 24-year-old contributing 10 assists last season.
Mellon has inherited a squad full of quality that stands a good chance of claiming the final top half place that is traditionally up for grabs in the Scottish top flight.
Odsonne Edouard to be top scorer
He is, for many, the best player in Scottish football at this moment. Indeed, Odsonne Edouard is an elite level operator, leading many to believe the Celtic striker could cut it at a higher level.
Speculation continues to swirl around the Frenchman’s future, with a number of Premier League clubs reportedly interested, but if he stays in Scotland for another season 5/2 to finish as the country’s top scorer looks a good price.
Edouard scored 21 goals in 27 league appearances last season. Of course, Alfredo Morelos might have something to say about his Celtic rival being the best goalscorer in Scotland right now, with the Colombian netting 28 times in all competitions for Rangers last season, but crucially he appears on his way out of Ibrox.
St Johnstone to finish in the bottom two
For the first time in seven years, St Johnstone are heading into a new season with a new manager. Tommy Wright was a giant of the McDiarmid Park club, not just keeping the Perth side in the Scottish Premiership, but guiding them into the top six in five of his seven seasons in charge. And yet last season could have gone either way for Saints.
St Johnstone suffered such a difficult first half to the 2019/20 campaign that a relegation scrap looked likely. Wright’s personality turned things around, but is their current squad strong enough to cope without the Northern Irishman?
Goals have been an issue for Saints in recent times, scoring just 28 times in 29 games last season, so will their defence remain as solid this season?
Hibernian to finish third
The field to finish as the ‘best of the rest’ in Scotland hasn’t been this open for a long time. Celtic and Rangers seem certain to have the top two positions sewn up, but beyond that anything could happen. This is what makes Hibernian to finish third at 11/4 such an attractive price, with Jack Ross’ side well-placed to build on the relative success of the second half of last season.
Hibs’ recruitment over the summer has been impressive, with Kevin Nisbet joining from Dunfermline Athletic on the back of a season which saw him score 18 times in the second tier.
Alex Gogic will give the Leith side some defensive presence in the centre of the pitch while Drey will offer drive and forward thrust out wide. Of all the teams besides the big two, Hibs look the best balanced.
Celtic to go the full season unbeaten
To bet on any team to go a full season unbeaten might seem somewhat reckless, but in Celtic’s case the price of 20/1 represents significant value. Keep in mind that the Hoops achieved this exact feat as recently as the 2016/17 season with a squad that is largely the same as the one they head into this season with.
Celtic lost just two games last season and finished their abridged campaign on a 10-game unbeaten run. There was a sense that Neil Lennon had truly figured out the best way to deploy his team just as the coronavirus pandemic struck.
If Celtic can pick up where they left off, going a full season unbeaten, just as they did three seasons ago, might not be out of the question.
Odds correct as of 2335 BST on 29/07/20