The 38-match Scottish Premiership, which features 12 clubs from throughout the nation, kicks off in August. Depending on the rankings at the conclusion of the first phase, most teams will face each other at least twice when it is divided into two stages. The two Glasgow teams who have dominated the Scottish soccer scene from the start are Celtic and Rangers. Read on for an expert Scottish Premiership betting preview and explore tips and stats for Scotland soccer in 2024.
- Scottish Premiership
- August 3, 2024 to May 18, 2025
- Two phases, 38 matches total between 12 clubs
- Various locations across Scotland
- Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network
Scottish Premiership Betting Lines
Leading internet bookies believe that only Celtic and Rangers are truly contenders for the Scottish silverware. With a line of (-350), Celtic is the clear favorite to win the Premiership, with a 77.8% chance of winning the championship. Rangers, Glasgow's opponents, are valued at (+275) to add to their already impressive record of 55 titles. Finally, the remaining candidates are all (+10000) or higher.
Scottish Premiership Celtic -350 TBA -350 Rangers +275 TBA +275 Hearts +10000 TBA +15000 Aberdeen +10000 TBA +10000 Hibernian +25000 TBA +25000 Kilmarnock +30000 TBA +35000 Motherwell +50000 TBA +50000 St. Mirren +50000 TBA +50000 Dundee +75000 TBA +75000 Dundee United +75000 TBA +75000 Ross County +100000 TBA +100000 St. Johnstone +100000 TBA +100000
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Celtic vs Rangers Derby Dominates Scotland Soccer
Celtic, the 2023–24 season's winners, have now won the Scottish Premiership ten times. Founded in 2013, the William Hill Premiership (so named for sponsorship reasons) is Scotland's premier level. The Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League combined to form the new league.
With Rangers leading the standings in 2020–21, it makes Celtics the victors in 10 of the 11 potential years. However, Scotland's soccer heritage goes far back than the last ten years. 54 Scottish League Championships and a record 42 Scottish Cups have been won by Celtic.
The team and its supporters continue to be embroiled in a deep and legendary rivalry with Rangers, another Glasgow team. One of the most well-known derbies in the world today is this group of two, known as the Old Firm. In actuality, the total record is even after 441 games in all tournaments. In total, 169 games have been won by both teams, with 103 ending in draws.
Both clubs' cultures have strong roots in Northern Ireland politics and Christian beliefs. Supporters of Celtic culture are nearly always Catholic and frequently descended from the Irish or Scottish heritage. On the other hand, Rangers have Protestant roots and are mostly of native Scot or Ulster Scot descent. In fact, the antagonism was so strong that the Rangers would never intentionally sign a player who practiced Catholicism.
In addition, political opinions were divided. Rangers supporters usually backed the Conservative party, whereas Celtic usually voted for the Labour party.
Rangers 2024-25 Premiership Betting Preview
With 55 league titles going into the 2024–25 season, the Rangers have the smallest edge over their city rivals. They have a challenging challenge ahead of them if they want to extend that record and avoid a tie in the record books, given the strength of Celtic during the previous 11 years.
The Rangers strengthened their roster with a few acquisitions during the summer. Five players, including goalkeeper Liam Kelly, traveled from Motherwell to Ibrox. Oscar Cortes, Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron, and Brazilian fullback Jefte are among the other recruits. Additionally, Mohamed Diomande made his loan move to Rangers permanent.
Supporters of the transfers emphasize how important it is to have new players provide a team that has only won one title recently a new perspective. Some pundits, however, are concerned that this kind of turnover damages the team's cohesion. Rangers boss Philippe Clement is very busy making sure every player has a part to play and can contribute regularly.
Taking everything into account, I believe Rangers have a chance to win a championship. Based on predicted points statistics, they actually should have been fewer than 2 points away from winning the championship last year. Despite their previous struggles, I think they can surpass a number that suggests they win only 26.7% of the time at (+275).
Three Clear Tiers in Scotland Soccer
Overall, one may claim that Scottish soccer is divided into three distinct divisions. The elite group is represented by Celtic and Rangers, who frequently represent the nation in European play and win the great majority of trophies. It is extremely unlikely that any other team will match them in a given season due to their unparalleled domination. A second tier of clubs is then left to clear up the leftovers.
That boat contains Hearts, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Aberdeen, and St. Mirren. Kilmarnock and Hearts both enjoyed successful seasons in 2023–24, placing third and fourth in the standings, respectively. The bottom six clubs thus compete in the final few games of the season to avoid relegation given the structure of the league. Aberdeen was dropped to the Scottish Premiership's relegation zone of the second phase after falling into that lower tier.
Due to the disparity in point totals, Aberdeen finished seventh on the table even though they had more total points than St. Mirren and Dundee, who were fifth and sixth, respectively. This demonstrates how the current format makes the top 6 seem like a tough competition. The five-team second tier has to compete for the final four berths because the Celtics and Rangers are practically guaranteed spots.
I would rank Dundee, Ross County, Dundee United, and St Johnstone as the bottom four clubs. Last season, Dundee United won promotion to the top division after Livingston was relegated with just 25 points. But my data-driven approach says that St Johnstone should have been demoted in the first place. St Johnstone could be a good option if you have a book with premiership betting futures for "to be relegated."
Odds are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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