When the fixtures list hits 33 of 38, the Scottish Premiership will divide into two halve. It ups the ante for those hoping to stave off relegation and for the clubs trying to chase down the title. It’s this latter section that will prove to be the most trying for the frontrunners, even if they’ve managed to coast, more or less, to a hefty lead.
This season, of course, that team is Celtic. Through their first 13 games, with a couple in hand on nearly half of the Scottish Premiership, Celtic amassed a convincing league atop the table with 12 wins and just one draw. More impressively – or, perhaps, scarily for the rest of the division – they scored 40 and only conceded four in 13 games.
Now, there’s a long way to go this season, in Scotland and on the continent, but is there any hope of a rival emerging to stop Celtic from drawing level with Rangers with the most titles won at 55?
State of Play in the Scottish Premiership
There was a time in the Scottish Premiership that Aberdeen and Celtic were neck-and-neck. Boasting ten wins and just one draw, while the much narrower goal difference paled in comparison to Celtic’s, Aberdeen were right there. Unfortunately, a loss and two more draws ensured, including a heated draw with Hearts that ended 1-1.
Frustrations are there, but every team goes through a rough patch at some point. Since Rangers broke Celtic’s nine-year run at the top in 2020/21, Celtic have lost three games in each league-winning season, as well as either exactly three or six draws in those three campaigns.
As of 3 December, Aberdeen had three draws and one loss for 33 points, so you’d think they were still very much in the race. However, also on 3 December, the outright markets of the football betting for the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership season had Celtic way out at 1/50, Rangers next at 20/1, and Aberdeen at 25/1.
It seems as though the recent skid, at the time of writing, spooked the oddsmakers, making them think that Rangers were the better option in the long run. Again, though, there’s a long season ahead. Plus, there’s the winter transfer window. With Celtic doing so well, it’d be tough to imagine other clubs not starting to circle above.
Already, there are transfer rumours that Luis Palma, who only has seven appearances without a goal or assist to date, will be on his way to the MLS. Given that the Honduran No. 7 put up 12 goals and 13 assists last season, seeing him leave would siphon some of the team’s strength in depth. Of course, bigger pieces may also move on.
Could Europe Take its Toll?
The reigning champions have done well to strike a balance between leading the league and putting in a good knock in the UEFA Champions League. Just five games in, and Celtic stood 20th, level with Manchester City and Juventus, and above Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Just three more games to go in Europe to secure what’ll likely be a Qualification Playoffs place – from ninth to 24th in the table – which are games against Dinamo Zagreb (10 December), Young Boys (22 January), and Aston Villa (29 January). Not a bad slate, but this next phase in the Scottish Premiership looks to be particularly trying.
Fourth in the table at the time of writing, Dundee United will battle Celtic on 22 December and 8 January. Around those fixtures, The Bhoys will also have two Old Firm Derbies. The first is the Scottish League Cup Final on 15 December, and the second is on 2 January in the league.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen don’t have any commitments on the continent, so the upstart reds can focus purely on domestic games and make the most of the rest. Being a team that spreads the scoring around, this should be a big help when the fixtures begin to condense around the turn of the year and into the first weeks of January.
For Rangers, Europe has offered much more promising results than in the Scottish Premiership. Five games in, and Rangers sit in the top bracket for the next stage of the UEFA Europa League. Forging this path have been wins against Malmö, FCSB, and OGC Nice, coupled with a tie against Olympiacos and a loss to Lyon.
In the league, the blue half of Glasgow trailing Celtic by ten points just 13 games in would seemingly remove the main competitor to the crown, and yet, the winter window looks to be particularly challenging for Celtic. Perhaps in this window, Aberdeen can stop the rot, and Rangers can bring their European form home.
Either way, there’s a lot of football left to play before Celtic can consider themselves the champions of Scotland again.
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