The Scottish Premiership got underway on Friday night and promises to be a three-horse race once again, though defending champions Celtic are still the team to beat at odds-on.
How does it work, which players to watch, and can Celtic make it six in a row? Find it all out, along with our juicy 4.5 betting tip under the fold.
Bet on Lawrence Shankland to Be Top Goalscorer
New Rangers signing Lawrence Shankland is the third favourite at 4.5 to be the league’s top scorer, but he has a big advantage over the two men who are ahead of him in the betting.
Celtic’s Colombian striker Camilo Duran (4.33) and Danish hitman Kasper Hogh are both new to the league and may take some time to adjust to a new style of football, while Shankland knows this league only too well, having scored 16 goals for Hearts last season and 24 in total, including Cup matches and appearances for Scotland.
Rangers were actually the highest scorers in last season’s league with 76 goals while Celtic managed 73 and Hearts 67, so if Rangers are going to continue to be the highest scorers in the league again, you’d expect Shankland to be among the goals.
Especially given that he’s expected to be on penalty duty following the departure of James Tavernier, who was their captain and penalty taker for the best part of 10 years.
Shankland is very much Rangers’ main man this season, also expected to be their new captain, so he should also come pretty close to being the league’s top scorer and, at a reasonable price, looks a solid bet.
The Football Season Is on!
The Scottish Premiership is one of the first major European football Leagues starting this summer.
Kicking off with Rangers being held to a 1-1 draw against Dundee United and continuing on Saturday with St Mirren and Aberdeen getting off to opening-day wins.
This was followed by a win for Motherwell on Sunday at Hibernian, and that in turn was followed by the first thriller of the season as St Johnstone came from 3-2 down to beat Kilmarnock.
Then on Monday it’s defending champions Celtic in action against Dundee. If the odds are anything to go by, just 1.15 for the hosts to win their opening match, then it should be a winning start for the reigning champions. They are 7.0 to win 2-0, while it’s 1.9 that both teams score.
One player to keep an eye on in that match is new signing Kasper Hogh. The 25-year-old Danish international was a key player for that Bodo Glimt side that did so well in last year’s Champions League. He averaged better than a goal every other game for the Norwegian club, so a lot- and by that we mean plenty of goals- is expected of him.
He’s 1.67 to score on his league debut and 4.0 to score two or more goals in what is his first-ever Scottish Premiership match.
Each of the 12 teams plays every other club three times, and after those 33 matches each, the league splits into a top six and a bottom six, with each club playing five additional matches within their section, so 38 in total.
Last year’s season was an absolute classic with Celtic only winning it on the final day of the season when they hosted league leaders Hearts and beat them 3-1. Had Hearts secured a draw in that match, they would have won the league for the first time since 1960, but it wasn’t to be.
Celtic Still the Team to Beat
That win last year was Celtic’s fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership title, and they remain the team to beat, priced up at 1.62 to make it six in a row.
As ever, Rangers are seen as the team most likely to challenge them. They’re 2.63 to win the league.
They’ve certainly been busy in the transfer market, recruiting highly-rated goalkeeper Ivor Pandur from Hull, Dan Neil from Sunderland to play as their number 10 and getting in Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta to marshal the defence.
But the biggest signing of all cost them no money at all. Striker Lawrence Shankland came in on a free transfer from Hearts after a brilliant season where he almost led them to the title after scoring 16 league goals, and if Rangers are to go close, they’ll be needing plenty more goals from him.
Having come so close last term, Hearts are 13.0 to go one better this year and win the league, and it’s 3.5 on Celtic winning both the league and the Scottish FA Cup, while what would be a disastrous season for Celtic by winning no trophies at all pays out at 4.75.
