The 2022-23 Scottish Premiership is once again set to be a two-horse race with 10 other teams jostling for the minor honours. However this doesn’t mean there won’t be some excitement, and thanks to Rangers’ exploits there will be plenty of Europen action to enjoy too.
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Hearts were clearly third best in 2021-2 finishing 13 points clear of the fourth place team, but still a whopping 32 points behind champions Celtic. They were rewarded with a place in the Europa League Playoffs. Will European football be a boost or a distraction? We will soon find out.
So Who Wins
We are going to tip Celtic, thanks largely to their efforts in the transfer market. They have no major losses and have secured Jota & Carter-Vickers who were on loan last season. However, their best signing (long term anyway) might turn out to be Alexandro Bernabei who looks like an upgrade on Greg Taylor and in any event offers cover at left back.
Rangers have made some good signings, however, losing Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo is a blow.
Scottish Premiership European Places
Thanks to Rangers reaching the Europa League Final the SPFL can look forward to two Europa Conference League places again (the Europa League place goes to the Scottish Cup winners). Hearts look set to take one but the final one could go to any one of four teams. We are plumbing for another Edinburgh team to grab fourth place.
How Will the Newly Promoted Team fare?
Kilmarnock took a huge gamble last year financially, and it paid off as they bounced straight back up. Even if they were made to fight for it by part-time Arbroath. They have strengthened the squad a bit and can still count on Kyle Lafferty to grab the goals. They should do ok, but a top-six finish looks out of the question.
Relegation candidates
St Johnstone fell off a cliff last year after a great 2020-21. They only just survived thanks to winning the playoff and might not be so lucky this time. St Mirren, Livingstone & Ross County will probably battle it out to avoid the dreaded 11th place.
Scottish Premiership Final Table Prediction
1 Celtic
2 Rangers Heart of Midlothian
3 Heart of Midlothian
4 Hibernian
5 Motherwell
6 Aberdeen
7 Dundee United
8 Kilmarnock
9 Ross County
10 Livingston
11 St Mirren
12 St Johnstone
So there we have it, our predictions for the 2022-23 Scottish Premiership. Should be close again but Celtic look to have had the better of the summer transfer market and they should edge Rangers despite the distraction of Champions League Group Stage football.
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Header Image: Cosmin Iftode/Shutterstock.com
jordonc ✅