SNS GroupThe Scottish Premiership returns to action this weekend with all 12 top-flight sides in action from Saturday afternoon until Monday evening.
It kicks off at Tynecastle on Saturday, when Hearts host Rangers from 12.30pm before Ross County travel to Motherwell for a 3pm match.
On Sunday, the Dundee derby is first-up at Tannadice, with Jim Goodwin’s newly promoted side looking to protect a 19-year record without a home defeat to their city rivals.
Meanwhile St Mirren take on Hibs in Paisley, before champions Celtic begin their trophy defence against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park.
On Monday night, Aberdeen travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone to round off the opening weekend.
We take a look at how all 12 are shaping up ahead of a busy weekend in Scottish football, with squad strength, transfers in and out and season predictions.
Celtic
SNS GroupLast season: Premiership champions and Scottish Cup winners.
The champions will go into the new campaign again as heavy favourites to retain their crown and keep up their stranglehold of Scottish football.
However their summer transfer action has been a bit slower than some supporters would have expected, although they have made three signings, with two being goalkeepers, so far.
But they have managed to keep most of their title-winning squad from last season intact with the likes of Callum McGregor, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kyogo Furuhashi expected to play a big part again.
Pre-season: It has been a strong pre-season performance wise for the Hoops who won three games out of three in their US tour, scoring 12 goals in the process, with impressive wins over DC United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Transfers in: Denmark captain Kasper Schmeichel has been brought in to replace Joe Hart following his retirement, with Finland number one Viljami Sinisalo signed from Aston Villa as backup.
Last season’s loanee Paulo Bernardo has returned on a five-year-deal while Adam Idah has also been linked with a return to Parkhead, but so far there has been nothing concrete to suggest the move for the Ireland international is getting any closer.
Kwon, Mikey Johnston and Bosun Lawal have all returned after impressing out on loan last season, but could Rodgers be tempted to bring them into the team on a regular basis?
Transfers out: Fan favourite Hart called an end to his illustrious playing career in May after helping Celtic to another league title, his third in three years, and a Scottish Cup, his second in three years.
Forgotten man Benjamin Siegrist has also left to sign for Neil Lennon’s Rapid Bucharest with Hyeongyu Oh leaving for Genk and young forward Rocco Vata signing for Watford, while Bernardo and Idah have returned to their parent clubs.
Last season’s player of the year Matt O’Riley continues to be linked with a move away with fringe players including Gustaf Lagerbielke and Mikey Johnston, who spent the second half of last season on loan to West Brom, also among the possibilities for the exit door before the end of the transfer window.
Europe: Celtic will take part in the new revamped Champions League format that will see them play eight games, four at home and four away, against eight different sides from the continent.
Key player: Kyogo Furuhashi
Opening game: Kilmarnock (H)
Premiership prediction: Champions
Rangers
SNS GroupLast season: Premiership and Scottish Cup runners up and League Cup winners.
With another rebuild under way at Ibrox, with the playing squad and stadium, it has been a bit of a chaotic pre-season for last season’s runners up.
Their preparations for the new campaign have been dominated with the story that Ibrox Stadium will be out of action until at least the end of September, with Hampden Park set to play host to their opening home games.
But supporters will be hoping that now Philippe Clement has been able to put his own stamp on the squad, that results will follow as they look to challenge for the title.
Pre-season: Rangers have yet to win in pre-season with defeats to Ajax, Manchester United and Birmingham City and a draw with Union Berlin.
Transfers out: Big earners such as Connor Goldson, John Lundstram, Sam Lammers and Borna Barisic have departed with Fabio Silva returning to Wolves following a six-month loan spell in Glasgow.
Jon McGlaughlin, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe have all been released while Robby McCrorie signed for Kilmarnock and Abdallah Sima returned to Brighton.
Transfers in: A host of fresh faces including Connor Barron, Liam Kelly and Jefte have been brought in but it remains to be seen if they will put Rangers in a better place to challenge Celtic at the top.
Defender Clinton Nsiala has joined from AC Milan with Moroccan youngster Hamza Igamane and Czech international winger Vaclav Cerny brought in to bolster the attack.
Mohamed Diomande has joined on a permanent deal while Oscar Cortes has been signed on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy next summer.
Dutch defender has joined from FC Twente where he was club captain.
Europe: Rangers’ European campaign will begin with a Champions League qualifier next week against either Dynamo Kiev or Partizan Belgrade, with the Ukrainian side holding a healthy lead from the first leg of their tie.
If they win they will enter the Champions League play-offs for a place in the revamped competition and if they lose either of those ties they will drop into the Europa League.
Key player: Jack Butland
Opening game: Hearts (A)
Premiership prediction: Second
Heart of Midlothian
SNS GroupLast season: Third in Premiership and defeated semi-finalists in both cup competitions
The Tynecastle club were far and away the ‘best of the rest’ last season as they comfortably secured third place and reached Hampden in both cup competitions before losing to Rangers on both occasions.
But the big question this season will be if they can find the right balance between competing in Europe and fighting on three fronts domestically.
They are guaranteed group stage football and in the last couple of seasons we’ve seen the team that finished third struggle with the demands of the heavy schedule, but Steven Naismith’s might be able to use their experience of two years ago to get the best out of their squad.
Pre season: Hearts have lost three out of three in their pre-season preparations with a 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient and 5-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, both at Tynecastle, and a 3-0 away defeat to Fleetwood.
Transfers in: Naismith looks to have made some good additions to his squad with the arrivals of the likes of Yan Dhanda from Ross County, Blair Spittal from Motherwell and the loan signing of Costa Rica international Gerald Taylor from Deportivo Saprissa.
James Penrice has also joined from Livington with Ryan Fulton signed from Hamilton, Daniel Oyegoke from Brentford and Musa Drammeh from Sevilla Atletico.
Transfers out: Hearts have lost a couple of last season’s first team stars with Alex Cochrane leaving for Birmingham City and Toby Sibbick signing for Wigan.
Last season’s loan players Scott Fraser and Dexter Lembikisa have returned to their parent clubs with Peter Haring released.
Speculation regarding the future of Scotland forward Lawrence Shankland, who can sign a pre-contract with another club in January, is still lingering however, although there has been nothing concrete on his future.
Losing last season’s Premiership top-scorer and Player of the Year would represent a massive blow to Hearts’ chances but the longer the transfer window goes with no suitable offer then the Jambos will be growing more confident of keeping their captain for another season.
Europe: Hearts are guaranteed group-stage football either in the Europa League, which they will enter at the playoff stage, or in the Conference League if they lose their playoff.
Key player: Lawrence Shankland
Opening game: Rangers (H)
Premiership prediction: Fifth
Kilmarnock
SNS GroupLast season: Fourth in the Premiership and quarter-finals of both cup competitions.
An impressive home-record helped the hard-to-beat Ayrshire club finish in the top-four last season and book a return to European football.
Victories over both Celtic and Rangers showed they are a match for anyone on their day and Derek McInnes has the experience to lead them into another strong season.
They have managed to keep a hold of the vast majority of last season’s key players while also adding one or two new faces so another consistent season competing in the top-half can be expected.
Pre-season: With Europa League qualifiers on the horizon, pre-season started early for Killie with a 2-0 defeat to Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno on June 29 followed by a 5-0 win over Welsh side TNS.
They then lost 3-2 to rivals Ayr United before big wins over Auchinleck Talbot, 4-0, and Barrow, 5-0.
Transfers in: Goalkeeper Robby McCrorie has joined after a long-spell as understudy at Rangers and Bruce Anderson has signed from Livingston.
Corrie Ndaba has returned on a permanent deal after spending last season on loan from Ipswich.
Transfers out: Last season’s loan players Kevin van Veen, Will Dennis, Tom Davies and James Balagizi have all returned to their parent clubs while Greg Stewart has joined Indian side Mohun Bagan.
Europe: Kilmarnock’s European campaign is already under way with a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Cercle Brugge in their Europa League qualifier.
They will drop into Conference League where they will play Tromso in the third qualifying round with a playoff place on the line for the winner.
While group stage football would undoubtedly be an overall positive for the club, it would also likely impact on their league form with their squad being stretched across four competitions.
Key player: Danny Armstrong
Opening game: Celtic (A)
Premiership prediction: Third
St Mirren
SNS GroupLast season: Fifth in the Premiership for first back-to-back top six finishes in 39 years.
Stephen Robinson’s side recorded their highest top-flight position since 1985 with a string of impressive performances particularly in the first half of the season.
And despite the likes of key players such as Keanu Baccus and Ryan Strain leaving the club, they will be aiming for another top-six push now the bar has been raised over the last two seasons.
Pre-season: The Saints are undefeated in their pre-season games with wins over Dunfermline Athletic and Greenock Morton and draws against Fleetwood Town and Carlisle
Transfers in: Robinson and St Mirren have a brilliant track-record in the transfer market in recent seasons and will be hoping for the same success with a new batch of players brought in for another mini-rebuild.
The most notable new recruit is former St Johnstone star Shaun Rooney from Fleetwood Town and they have also brought in Dennis Adeniran, from Hapoel Petah Tikva, Ellery Balcombe, from Brentford on loan, Alex Iacovitti, from Port Vale, Roland Idowu from Shrewsbury on loan and Oisin Smyth from Oxford.
Transfers out: Strain, to Dundee Utd and Baccus, to Mansfield will both represent a blow with James Bolton, Charles Dunne and Zach Hemming also departing and on-loan South Korean midfielder Kwon has returned to parent club Celtic.
Europe: St Mirren were rewarded for their fifth place finish with a chance to qualify for the Conference League.
They drew Icelandic side Valur for their first European tie since the 1980s and they recorded a 4-1 win in Paisley to reach the next round against SK Brann.
If they get past the Norwegians they will only be a playoff away from group stage football, but the likes of Chelsea and Real Betis could be lying in wait if they get past Brann.
Key player: Mark O’Hara
Opening game: Hibernian (H)
Premiership prediction: Sixth
Dundee FC
SNS GroupLast season: Sixth in the Premiership
Tony Docherty’s side earned a respectable top-half finish in their first season back in the top-flight after winning the Championship the season previous.
If they can get close to that again they will be doing well and could suffer from losing the likes of Amadou Bakayoko and Owen Beck so their season will likely rely on their success in the transfer market.
Also you’d have to think there will be an improvement in the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs, after an underwhelming season from them, and with Dundee United added to the mix it could be the Dens Park side that are squeezed out of contention for a top-six place, but they should have enough to avoid any relegation fears.
Pre-season: It has been an impressive pre-season for Dundee who beat Arbroath 3-1 before a short trip to Poland where they recorded a 3-0 win over Banik and a 1-1 draw with Lech Poznan.
Back in Scotland they beat Dunfermline 2-0 before winning four out of four in their League Cup group including a 7-1 win over Bonnyrigg Rose and a 6-0 victory over Inverness Caley Thistle.
Transfers in: Bringing in Simon Murray from Ross County could prove to be one of the signings of the summer if he can recapture his form from last season.
The loan signing of France under-20 left-back Ziyad Larkeche from QPR could also be one to keep an eye on.
They have also brought in Ethan Ingram from West Brom, Seb Palmer-Houlden from Bristol City on loan and Clark Robertson from Ashdod.
Transfers out: Rickie Lamie (Ross County), Amadou Bakayoko, Malachi Boateng, Dara Costelloe, Owen Dodgson, Owen Beck, Aaron Donnelly, Ryan Howley, Michael Mellon, Zach Robinson (end of loans) and Diego Pineda (released).
Europe: N/A
Key player: Simon Murray
Opening game: Dundee United (A)
Premiership prediction: Eighth
Aberdeen
SNS GroupLast season: Seventh in the Premiership, League Cup final and Scottish Cup semi-final
The Dons will be looking to do a lot better than last season when they went through three managers and struggled to find a balance between Group stage football and the domestic season.
New boss Jimmy Thelin will be looking to hit the ground running and get back to challenging the likes of Hearts for third place.
The future of star-man Bojan Miovski could play a big part in how successful this Aberdeen can be.
Pre-season: It has been an encouraging pre-season for Aberdeen with Thelin still undefeated
Transfers in: The signing of Dimitar Mitov from St Johnstone could prove to be shrewd bit of business from Thelin after the Bulgarian impressed last season.
They have also brought in Peter Ambrose from Ujpest, Gavin Molloy from Shelbourne and Sivert Heltne Nilsen from SK Brann.
Transfers out: Connor Barron (Rangers), Stefan Gartenmann (end of loan), Jonny Hayes (retired), Junior Hoilett (free agent), Killian Phillips (end of loan), Kelle Roos (Triestina).
Europe: N/A
Key player: Bojan Mijovski
Opening game: St Johnstone (A)
Premiership prediction: Fourth
Hibernian
SNS GroupLast season: Eighth in Premiership
The Easter Road club will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing campaign under Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery.
Club legend David Gray has been handed the reins for this season after ending last year as caretaker and he will be hoping he can give his squad the boost it needs.
They have undoubted talent in attack with the likes of Martin Boyle, Dylan Vente and Dylan Levitt and if they can tighten up at the back then there’s no reason they can’t be challenging the likes of city-rivals Hearts and Kilmarnock at the top end of the table.
Pre-season: It’s been a bit of a mixed bag in pre-season for Hibs who beat Edinburgh City 5-0 before losing to German side Duisburg and recording a 1-0 win over PAOK.
They also lost 3-2 to English Championship side Watford and had three comfortable wins in the League Cup against Elgin (5-0), Queen’s Park (5-1) and Peterhead (4-0) to reach the last-16.
But a shock 1-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts might raise some doubts amongst the support for the season ahead.
Opening game: St Mirren (A)
Premiership prediction: Seventh
Transfers in: Josef Bursik (Club Brugge, loan), Marvin Ekpiteta (Blackpool), Warren O’Hora (MK Dons), Jordan Smith (Stockport) and Harry McKirdy (end of loan)
Transfers out: David Marshall (retired), Jojo Wollacott (Crawley), Will Fish, Myziane Maoilda, Emiliano Marcondes, Nectarios Triantis (end of loan), Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson.
Europe: N/A
Key player: Martin Boyle
Opening game: St Mirren (A)
Premiership prediction: Seventh
Motherwell
SNS GroupLast season: Ninth in Premiership
Stuart Kettlewell has had another turnover of players to deal with and their season could depend on how well they replace key players such as Theo Bair, Liam Kelly and Blair Spittal.
The signing of Apostolos Stamatelopoulos could be the difference if he can recreate his A-League form in the Premiership.
They might avoid being dragged into a relegation battle but aspirations of a top six placement might be a bit too far this season.
Pre-season: Early in the summer the Steelmen drew 2-2 with Eredivisie side FC Twente before beating Livingston and Linlithgow Rose.
Their League Cup group stage was a mixed-bag with wins over Clyde and Edinburgh City but draws with Montrose and Partick Thistle.
Transfers in: The acquisition of Australia forward Stamatelopoulos who hit 17 goals in the A-League will be the one that is exciting the Fir Park crowd as he looks to fill the boots of Theo Bair.
They have also brought in Kofi Balmer (Crystal Palace), Ross Callachan (Ross County), Liam Gordon (St Johnstone), Krisztian Hegyi (West Ham, loan), Marvin Kaleta (Wolves, loan), Johnny Koutroumbis (Perth Glory), Zach Robinson (AFC Wimbledon), Steve Seddon (Oxford), Filip Stuparevic (Domzale) and Tom Sparrow (Stoke).
Transfers out: Last season’s player of the year Bair departed to sign for Ligue 1 side Auxerre, captain Kelly has signed for Rangers and Spittal has departed for Hearts.
They have also lost Bevis Mugabi (Anorthosis Famagusta), Callan Elliott and Calum Butcher (released), Georgie Gent, Jack Vale, Adam Montgomery, Oli Shaw, Adam Devine (end of loans), Barry Maguire (Hamilton) and Jon Obika (retired).
Europe: N/A
Key player: Apostolos Stamatelopoulos
Opening game: Ross County (H)
Premiership prediction: Tenth
St Johnstone
SNS GroupManager: Craig Levein
Last season: Tenth in Premiership
A ‘new manager bounce’ when Craig Levein was brought in last season went a long way towards saving St Johnstone’s season.
They eventually avoided a play-off with a victory in the last day of the season to retain their Premiership status for another season.
But with the departures of goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov and defender Liam Gordon, the Perth side might have their work cut out for them again this campaign.
Pre-season: They won three friendly matches against Nairn, Huntly and Arbroath before winning three out of four of their League Cup group games.
However a 3-2 defeat to Alloa won’t have done much for their confidence going into the Premiership season.
Transfers in: Kyle Cameron (Notts County, loan), Aaron Essel (Bechem United), Uche Ikpeazu (Port Vale), Makenzie Kirk (Heart of Midlothian), Josh McPake (Stirling Albion), Josh Rae (Airdrieonians), Andre Raymond (Vilar de Perdizes), Jack Sanders (Kilmarnock) and Sam McClelland (end of loan).
Transfers out: Liam Gordon (Motherwell), Ryan McGowan (Livingston), Dan Phillips (Stevenage), Andy Considine (retired), Tony Gallacher, Ali Crawford (released) and Dimitar Mitov (Aberdeen).
Europe: N/A
Key player: Adama Sidibeh
Opening game: Aberdeen (H)
Premiership prediction: Relegated
Ross County
SNS GroupLast season: 11th in Premiership, survived via a play-off victory over Raith Rovers.
It has been a tough transfer window for Don Cowie who has lost County’s two best players from last season in Simon Murray and Yan Dhanda as well as their captain Jack Baldwin.
Replacing those three will be a tough ask and it could be another long season for the Staggies who have stayed up via the playoffs in two consecutive seasons.
Despite a promising end to the season under Cowie last season, another playoff spot could be their best chance of survival again this campaign.
Pre-season: Friendly victories over Clachnacuddin and Brora Rangers were followed up by four wins on the bounce over Stranraer, Raith Rovers, Hamilton and Stirling Albion in the League Cup group stage.
Transfers in: Jack Hamilton (Livingston), Ronan Hale (Cliftonville), Ricki Lamie (Dundee), Charlie Telfer (Airdrieonians), Akil Wright (Stockport), Jack Grieves (Watford, loan) and Alex Samuel (end of loan).
Transfers out: The departures of Yan Dhanda, Simon Murray and Jack Baldwin could hit County hard this season.
They have also lost George Wickens, Loick Ayina, Teddy Jenks, Eli King, Brandon Khela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (end of loans), Jay Henderson (Ayr, loan) and Josh Sims (free agent).
Europe: N/A
Key player: Jordan White
Opening game: Motherwell (A)
Premiership prediction: A third consecutive playoff
Dundee United
SNS GroupLast season: Championship winners
Newly promoted after winning the Championship, the Tannadice club will be looking to kick on and cement their place in the Premiership again.
They remain one of the country’s biggest clubs and have a good top-flight pedigree, winning the league just over 40 years ago as well as reaching a UEFA Cup final.
They also have some good experience in the squad with Declan Gallagher, Ross Docherty & Louis Moult providing a steely spine through the side. Jim Goodwin has made some shrewd signings from North Macedonia – something he did at Aberdeen with Bojan Miovski. Kristijan Trapanovski & David Babunski will provide some excitement for the Dundee Utd faithful but question marks remain over squad depth & lingering defensive frailties.
Pre-season: In pre-season they beat Annan Athletic and drew 2-2 with Luton Town. Despite losing their opening League Cup group game 2-0 to Falkirk, they managed to make it through to the next round with back-to-back wins over Stenhousemuir, Ayr United and Buckie Thistle.
Transfers in: David Babunski (Mezokovesdi Sport Egyesulet), Will Ferry (Cheltenham), Dave Richards (Crewe), Vicko Sevelj (NK Radomlje), Ryan Strain (St Mirren), Kristijan Trapanovski (Shkupi) and Jort van der Sande (Den Haag).
Transfers out: Chris Mochrie (Airdrie), David Wotherspoon (Dunfermline), Alex Greive, Sam McClelland, Jordan Tillson (end of loans), Scott McMann (Ayr) and Mark Birighitti (released).
Europe: N/A
Key player: David Babunski
Opening game: Dundee (H)
Premiership prediction: Ninth
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