The Title Race Begins With Rangers & Celtic Getting Off The Mark

The Title Race Begins With Rangers & Celtic Getting Off The Mark

The Scottish Premiership got off to an emphatic start this weekend with Celtic thumping St Johnstone 7-0 and laying a real statement of intent for the coming season.

The Hoops rarely had a quite spell in the game in which they dominated possession and had 24 attempts on goal.

Rangers were less dominant as they look to prevent Celtic from winning a ninth straight title, as Steven Gerrard’s men needed a stoppage time winner to get their season underway with three points.

The bookmakers are seeing Celtic as a strong favourite with the bet365.com mobile app at 4/11 and following that victory many punters will already be writing off Rangers.

Rangers are priced at 9/4 but looked like their problem of conceding late goals has yet to be addressed with Kilmarnock levelling in the last 10 minutes before Connor Goldson sealed victory.

Gerrard claimed his side would have won the title last year if it wasn’t for the late goals they conceded and following their win over Kilmarnock many punters won’t be keen on them ousting Celtic from top spot.

The signs of a similar plight were there to see for Gers. They relied heavily upon James Tavernier once again and struggled really to open up the defence of Kilmarnock.

Gerrard will want to address that quickly and is keen to make one more signing before the transfer window closes on Thursday. He is keen to secure a loan deal for Ryan Kent once again, who could be useful in breaking through defences, just as he was last season.

Liverpool are looking to offload the winger permanently but with the deadline looming it could play into Gerrard’s hands.

What also could play into the hands of Rangers is if Celtic were to lose key players. Kieran Tierney could make his way to Arsenal before the end of the window, while Leicester are also thought to be looking at Kristoffer Ajer, following Harry Maguire’s move to Manchester United.

They could prove big losses with little time to fill their boots, which could pose a problem for Neil Lennon.

Of course, one game in and there’s still plenty to play for. Last season Rangers lost home and away to Killy, so they’ll be pleased to have gotten off the mark.

From one game though the signs are showing that we could see a very similar season to last, which would mean a ninth straight title for Celtic and another season of chasing for Rangers.

Steven Gerrard has work to do, but Neil Lennon will also have to build on a fantastic start to the season, which could be tricky if they lose key men over the coming week.