The Scottish Premiership or the Cinch Premiership as its sponsors would like you to call it is underway and typically it looks like a two-horse race. You would have to go back to the 1984-85 season to find a winner not called Celtic or Rangers and there is virtually no chance of that changing in 2021-22.
Rangers won the title in 2020-21 with some ease and although they have not added greatly to the squad they look worthy favourites. Striker Fashion Sakala should do well at this level and John Lundstram has English Premier League experience with Sheffield United. They look worthy favourites and are our tip for the title.
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Celtic after a decade of dominance look to be rebuilding this year with a plethora of new players arriving. This spending spree has been financed by the sale of their centre back Kristoffer Ajer who will be missed. Swedish International Carl Starfelt is his replacement and time will tell. Joe Hart is another solid addition and we think Celtic should at least pick up a trophy this season. Overall with all the changes it may be next season before we see the Hoops back as a serious title contender.
Scottish Premiership European Places
Scotland has two Europa Conference League places up for grabs in 2021-22 (the Europa League place goes to the Scottish Cup winners). The battle for these is a bit more open and realistically any two from six could fill them.
Hibernian are the obvious choice for one of them. They have a solid squad and were well clear in third place last season. They might struggle to hold onto exciting young left-back Josh Doig but he would command a tidy fee that could go back into the squad.
Aberdeen has strengthened a bit and adding Scott Brown will make them competitive. They should take fourth place.
Hearts were comfortable Championship winners last season bouncing back at the first attempt. They could be anything but more likely top half than strugglers. They have turned over a huge chunk of their squad but don’t look any worse for it.
St Johnstone had their best season in a while in 2020-21 winning both the Scottish Cup & League Cup. Add a credible 5th place finish and expectations will be quite high. The squad is pretty much intact as both Glenn Middleton & Reece Devine are back on loan.
Dundee United might also make a push. Charlie Mulgrew will add experience to the back line and they have some money in the bank following the sale of Lawrence Shankland.
How Will the Newly Promoted Teams fare?
Hearts will do ok this year and should be top six. Dundee who advanced via the playoffs might struggle and we think they will go straight back down. Still, we can at least enjoy a season of Dundee derbies in the top flight.
Relegation candidates
Livingstone has made wholesale changes to the squad which is always risky. We think they could struggle while things settle down. Newly promoted Dundee are also a candidate while Ross County has also offloaded a lot of their experienced players only to bring in youngsters. Good planning for the future but might prove costly short term.
Scottish Premiership Final Table Prediction
- Rangers
- Celtic
- Hibernian
- Aberdeen
- Heart of Midlothian
- St Johnstone
- Dundee United
- Motherwell
- St Mirren
- Livingston
- Dundee
- Ross County
So there we have it, our predictions for the 2021-22 Scottish Premiership. We think the gap will be smaller than last season but Rangers should make it two on the bounce despite Celtic’s spending spree. While you are here check out our most recent Scottish Premiership posts or indulge in a Football Quiz or Two and let the world know you know your football!
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