2025/26 Scottish Premiership prediction: Outright winner, relegation and top goalscorer best bets

With a new man in charge of Rangers, they will be looking to put more pressure on Celtic and end their recent dominance when the new Scottish Premiership season kicks off on Saturday.

Brendon Rodgers’ side have won 12 of the last 13 league championships, with their only slip-up coming in 2020/21 when Rangers secured their 55th title.

The two sides are both level now on the number of titles won, and with Russell Martin in charge, Rangers will hope they can push the champions harder this time around.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Celtic are once again the short-priced favourites on betting sites to be crowned champions, with the oddsmakers believing the Gers have plenty of work to do to close the gap between the Old Firm rivals.

Celtic finished 17 points clear of their nearest rivals last season as the Gers’ gamble of installing club legend Barry Ferguson as caretaker boss, following the sacking of Philippe Clement, backfired.

He managed just six wins from his 15 games in charge, with five draws and four defeats, including a win and a draw against their Glasgow rivals.

Ferguson’s replacement, former Southampton boss Martin, has quickly got his feet under the table. Rangers have already played two matches in the Champions League third round of qualifying, beating Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate, so that will give them some confidence before their Premiership opener against Motherwell on Saturday.

They have spent more than £13m bringing in six players, including Joe Rothwell from Bournemouth, Emmanuel Fernandez from Peterborough and Thelo Aasgaard from Luton Town.

Celtic have also strengthened, bringing in six players including Kieran Tierney from Arsenal, striker Benjamin Nygren from Nordsjaelland and Japanese forward Shin Yamada from Kawasaki F.

They have lost the goals of Nicolas Kuhn, though, who after scoring 21 goals last season, secured a £16.5m move to Como in Serie A.

Despite that loss, it is still hard to see past Celtic overtaking Rangers with the number of SPL title wins come May.

Such is the dominance of Celtic and Rangers - you have to go back to 1984 for a different winner, and that was Aberdeen, who retained the title they had won 12 months previously - that football betting sites also offer odds of a winner without them included.

The market works by excluding the Old Firm from the league table, so whoever finishes highest of the remaining 10 teams will be crowned best of the rest.

Hearts are the favourites in the SPL odds to take this particular honour and they’ve made a decent start to the new campaign.

The Jambos have scored four goals in each of their Scottish League Cup games so far, beating Dunfermline 4-1, and Hamilton Academical, Stirling Albion and Dumbarton 4-0, so goals don’t look like a problem.

They finished seventh in the league before the split, but the appointment of Derek McInnes has got people excited about what to expect at Tynecastle.

As manager of Aberdeen, he won the Scottish League Cup in 2014 and finished Scottish Premiership runners-up on four occasions.

2025/26 Scottish Premiership prediction 1: Hearts to win (W/O Celtic & Rangers) - 11/8 Bet365

It’s going to be hard for newcomers Falkirk and Livingston following their promotion from the Scottish Championship, but most online bookmakers don’t make them favourites to finish bottom.

That honour goes to Dundee, who only narrowly avoided relegation in May, are favourites to be propping up the table come May and they face stiff competition to survive from the Bairns and Livi.

Falkirk, under the highly experienced John McGlynn, finished top of the Championship in May to secure their promotion back to the Premiership for the first time in 15 years. They also secured back-to-back promotions, so this team certainly has that winning feeling, and that could help them this time around.

Livingston bounced back to the Premiership at the first attempt after being relegated in 2024. They had survived against the odds for five years at the top level, and that experience could prove vital.

2025/26 Scottish Premiership prediction 2: Dundee to finish bottom - 11/4 Bet365

Rangers’ striker Cyriel Dessers finished last season as the SPL leading scorer, but it was the first time in 20 seasons that the top scorer failed to reach 20 goals.

Dessers netted 29 times in 55 games in all competitions, but only 18 were in the league. He did score six goals in his last five league games, so if he can continue that form, then he’ll be well placed again.

The Nigerian international is third in the market on most betting apps, behind Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland and the man expected to get most of the goals for Celtic again this season.

Celtic striker Daizen Maeda scored 34 in all competitions last season but just 16 in the league.

However, after losing the goals from Kuhn, Celtic will be hoping he can step up and add to that tally this season, if they are to have a good campaign.

2025/26 Scottish Premiership prediction 3: Daizen Maeda to be top scorer - 5/1 Ladbrokes

If you’re having a bet on the Scottish Premiership this season, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling.

Betting can be addictive, and it’s important to stay in control of your betting. The same applies if you’re gambling on casino sites, poker sites or slot sites.

Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

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