Can Celtic defend the Scottish Premier League title for the 7th time?

Having won last season’s Scottish Premier League title without losing a single game during the course of the season, Celtic have shown early signs that they mean business again this time around. They have started the new season with seven wins from nine games, and remain undefeated in the league, which seems to suggest that they are serious contenders to lift the title for the seventh season in a row.

Celtic’s domestic form last season was astonishing, as they went through the league season without losing a single match, and on the surface, it would seem like an impossible task to match that again this time. It certainly would be a huge ask to avoid defeat all season again, but of course, they do not need to do that to win the league. Their early season form indicates that they are the favourites for another title win, but there are also indications that they could face some stiffer opposition this time than they did last season. Although the return of local rivals Rangers to the league led pundits to expect that they would be the main challengers to Celtic, this has so far proven to be too steep a hurdle for the light blues. They sit six points behind Celtic after nine matches, with two defeats and – while this is clearly not insurmountable, the comprehensive 0-2 win that Celtic secured at Ibrox in the first Old Firm game of the season showed the gulf between the two sides. The two goals from Rogic and Griffiths did not reveal fully just how one-sided the match was, but there is one side that might give Celtic a run for their money.

Aberdeen currently sit in second place in the table, but they have the same number of points as Celtic – 23 – and only goal difference separates the sides. Aberdeen have been Celtic’s main resistance in the past season or so, finishing runners-up to them in 2015/16 and 2016/17 and also losing a closely contested Scottish Cup final to them at the end of last season. If any team was going to prevent Celtic achieving a seventh successive title it would surely be Aberdeen, but Celtic’s confident early season form – with 21 goals scored and just five conceded – is pretty much a continuation of last season. Aberdeen are keeping pace with them just now, but it is hard to see them continuing to do so during the arduous winter months when Celtic’s superior depth of quality is likely to tell.

Celtic fans – and supporters of other clubs – will likely be betting on them to win the league again and sports betting is something that is undergoing an evolution just now. One big change is the appearance of an app store called Cherry Rush that groups together all of the best sports and casino gambling apps under one roof. This makes finding the best ones to use a lot simpler for those who like to bet, whether they are wagering on Celtic or another team.