Summer is coming to a close and the Scottish Premiership kicks off this weekend! A quick preview of the matches.
The preseason has been quite enjoyable between fun runs in Europe of 3 teams and a hysterical crash out by Kilmarnock. But now its time for the greatest league on earth to get under way.
(All saturday games are at 3:00pm local time)
Celtic vs St Johnstone
Celtic have looked very good in preseason by dominating their matchups in Champions League Qualifying. Last season’s slow start appears to be no where in sight.
St Johnstone is St Johnstone. They finished 7th last season and have varied between 8th and 4th the last several. Celtic will obviously be favorites but this should at least be a small challenge to open the season.
Hibernian vs St Mirren
Hibs are coming off of a solid 5th place finish last season and show little reason to expect them to be anything other than tough as nails this season.
St Mirren on the other hand are coming off a very poor season that saw them narrowly avoid relegation as they beat Dundee United in the playoff on penalties.
Hibs should have this one in hand being at home against a weak side altho if St Mirren get a result it could be the sign of a change of fortune for one of the clubs.
Motherwell vs Livingston
The 8th and 9th place finishers of last season face off but that placement meant different things for each club.
For Motherwell, the 8th place finish can only count as a minor disappointment, while the twice promoted Livingston finishing more than 10 points clear of relegation with what is essentially the same team that won promotion from league 1 can only be seen as a success.
Motherwell will look to rebound while Livingston hope to repeat last season.
Ross County vs Hamilton
The newly promoted Ross County vs the unkillable cockroach of the Premiership.
It’s always a challenge for newly promoted clubs in the top flight but Ross has some impact players, Hamilton are always terrible, and the home crowd should be buzzing at a return to the top flight. Advantage Ross County.