Scottish Premiership is back – can Rangers challenge Celtic?

A club world cup victory, lavish US tours, and $800 million stadium construction projects that will be on the horizon. Pah.

Yes, there are some advantages to the Premier League. It’s not the Scottish Premiership, though.

On Saturday, the juggernaut of Scotland’s top flight revves up once more. You can bet that your most recent Donald Trump-autographed Chelsea trophy photo will have jaw-dropping drama and more compelling arguments than you can shake a kebab pie at.

Whisper it, but there might be some tension between the big two this season.

13 of Celtic’s previous 14 titles, totaling 55, are a result of Celtic’s dominance. Will this campaign, however, signal a turning point in the rankings?

As unease grows among fans in Glasgow’s east end, Celtic finished 17 points clear last time. Under new manager Russell Martin, Rangers have already had a positive start, though not entirely convincing, by defeating Panathinaikos in the third round of Champions League qualifying.

Nine players have been signed by the new American ownership group at Ibrox, with the promise of more to follow.

While Brendan Rodgers’ side will start as favorites to win the 56th title, the race may be in one of the closest for a while this year.

With new investment and high expectations being met, this is one of the most highly anticipated seasons in years, aside from the Old Firm.

Will the traditional big clubs of the Scottish Premiership hold onto the top five spots in the table because they are arguably inarguably the best position they have been for a while?

After a sour struggle last term, Hearts fans are prepared for a fairy tale season under new boss Derek McInnes, who is plugging the Tony Bloom supercomputer into the Tynecastle mainframe. The former head coach of Aberdeen and Kilmarnock currently has a formidable squad that needs to be overcome in order to pursue both Europe and silverware.

Hibernian, led by David Gray, changed their fortunes in 2025, and they will hope to pick up where they left off, going from last to third after a remarkable run, despite having European football to contend with as they drop into Conference League qualifying.

Key players have been kept in a settled side at Easter Road, Jamie McGrath and Josh Mulligan have been fired from league rivals, and Kieron Bowie is a force to be around after an injury-related first-season slump.

After a long wait for the Scottish Cup glory, Aberdeen are aware of how important it is to balance European and domestic football until the end of the year, so it’s no wonder fans have turned out record numbers for their season books.

Scottish sides have recently found it difficult to perform such a juggling act, but manager Jimmy Thelin is another who has enjoyed good support from Pittodrie’s stables.

Meanwhile, Jim Goodwin is getting ready for his Dundee United side on Tayside after a terrifyingly impressive return to the top flight.

They continued to lead the newly-promoted side, finishing fourth overall and securing some European travel opportunities for fans in the process. Next week’s Conference League qualifying round includes a quick run by Rapid Vienna.

The SPFL had a record 5, 336, 353 supporters attend games last season, which is the highest total since 2012-13.

Nearly four million punters (3, 986, and 145) were on the top flight.

After numerous promotions, the addition of Falkirk to the top table has resulted in a rousing anticipation among the Bairns fans. With only a small number of fans still standing in the ground, the Kevin McAllister Stand and the Main Stand, or roughly 5,700 punters, had signed up for each home game by mid-July.

St Mirren claim to be at “record numbers again” for their regulars after securing historic back-to-back top-six finishes.

Away tickets are becoming more scarce as homespots are crowded up and down the country.

Brighton owner Bloom has invested £10 million in Hearts, Aberdeen are on a spending spree, and Hibs broke their transfer record by signing Luzern’s Thibault Klidje from Togo.

The Premiership Hills have gold in them.

Attendance increases, and revenues typically increase, and the club’s capacity to combine sponsorship deals with increased revenues, which eventually lead to big-money signings.

Every top-flight organization has so far reportedly “undisclosed,” with the exception of Dundee United and recently promoted Livingston, for which no one has ever paid a transfer fee.

No fewer than five clubs will have a new manager, with John McGlynn and David Martindale both making major changes to the faces in the top flight dugouts.

Martin and McInnes are the “new” boys at Rangers, McInnes at Hearts, Stuart Kettlewell at Kilmarnock, Motherwell’s Jens Berthel Askou, and Steven Pressley at Dundee.

After being prematurely excluded from the League Cup as a result of losing his first two games to lower league rivals, the latter is already under some pressure.

The coverage on BBC Scotland is extensive.

Open All Mics on television will present you with the highlights of the opening day of BBC One Scotland at 14:25 BST, followed by Sportscene highlights at 20:00.

At 19:15, Jonathan Sutherland from BBC Scotland will bring you Sunday’s highlights.

With a mix of news, views, and analysis, Sportsound will be broadcasting live over the weekend on radio and over the weekend with games played on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.