Saturday 5 August 2017 07:23, UK
It's BACK!
The Scottish Premiership returns this weekend a full 70 days after Celtic ended the domestic season unbeaten and as treble winners with Scottish Cup final victory over Aberdeen.
Ahead of the new campaign Sky Sports Scotland's commentary team of Ian Crocker and Andy Walker predict the opening fixtures & give their thoughts on summer transfers as well as key players for each team.
Celtic v Hearts - Live on Sky Sports Football from 12pm Saturday.
Andy Walker's prediction-
Celtic 2-1 Hearts
At £4.5m, Olivier Ntcham, the 21-year old French signing from Manchester City, is clearly here to play, ironically in an area where Celtic are top heavy with midfield players. One of the biggest successes for Brendan Rodgers last season was the spread of goals, especially from the middle of the park. Stuart Armstrong, Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor all scored regularly with captain Scott Brown enjoying the finest season of his career. The balance of protecting your defence while still being creative is crucial to Celtic's hopes this season in the Champions League and at home where they are overwhelming favourites to win the title for a seventh successive season.
Given his experience in the Scottish game and his high-profile contribution to Northern Ireland's recent success, Kyle Lafferty is surely a striker that Hearts can rely upon to score regularly. Even allowing for the fact that Ian Cathro was sacked just five days before the start of the league campaign, the new manager will inherit a squad that`s good enough to challenge for a European place.
Ian Crocker's prediction-
Celtic 3-1 Hearts
Scott Sinclair scored six goals in four games against Hearts last season including an opening-day winner and a title clinching hat-trick. Pretty sure we can expect more of the same from a most worthy Player of the Year. Class on and off the pitch.
Dundee v Ross County - Saturday 3pm
Andy Walker's prediction-
Dundee 1-0 Ross County
My former colleague at Sky Neil McCann has chosen to give management a shot and given that he's at a club that I know is close to his heart, Dundee will surely be a much-improved side than the one we saw struggle for so long last season. Scott Allan has tremendous ability and this season-long loan from Celtic has to be one where he makes his mark and starts to develop into the kind of footballer that is consistently influencing games.
Ross County will undoubtedly miss the talents of Burton Albion bound Liam Boyce, the Scottish Premiership`s top scorer last season. In his place is a familiar name to the Highlands, Billy McKay, who had an impressive goalscoring haul at near-neighbours Inverness Caley Thistle. As long as he scores regularly, County manager Jim McIntyre won't have anything to worry about.
Ian Crocker's prediction-
Dundee 2-1 Ross County
Forgotten man Scott Allan has the time and the stage to reboot his career. One of many interesting signings made by Neil McCann. Looking forward to seeing how it maps out at Dens Park.
Hibernian v Partick Thistle - Saturday 3pm
Andy Walker's prediction-
Hibernian 3-1 Partick Thistle
Re-signing Anthony Stokes for a third spell at Easter Road should guarantee that Hibs will be playing much of their football in the top half of the table this season. Neil Lennon and his players insist they have every right to have high hopes for the season ahead given the number of players that have been recruited for the demanding campaign.
Jordan Turnbull has signed for Thistle from Coventry on a loan deal as a straight replacement for Liam Lindsay, the centre-half who attracted a lot of interest last season and eventually signed for Barnsley. Thistle will be hard-pushed to achieve what they did last season, finishing in the top half of the table.
Ian Crocker's prediction-
Hibernian 1-1 Partick Thistle
Danny Swanson was one of the best performers in the Scottish Premiership last season with St Johnstone. Now playing for the team of his dreams he's destined to become a favourite with his fellow Hibees.
Kilmarnock v St Johnstone - Saturday - 3pm
Andy Walker's prediction-
Kilmarnock 2-0 St Johnstone
If fit, Gordon Greer and Kirk Broadfoot should form the basis of a new look Kilmarnock defence this season where manager Lee McCulloch has his first full season in charge of the Ayrshire men. Broadfoot has a wealth of experience from his time at St Mirren and Rangers and will help Kilmarnock be stronger defensively.
Michael O`Halloran endured a torrid time at Ibrox during his brief Rangers career and a return to familiar surroundings should help him rediscover his love for the game.
Ian Crocker's prediction-
Kilmarnock 2-0 St Johnstone
Kilmarnock appear to have bought rather well and Lee Erwin will certainly prove to be a handful on his return to Scotland. If Kris Boyd doesn't get you, Erwin might!
Motherwell v Rangers - Live on Sky Sports & Main Event from 1pm Sunday
Andy Walker's prediction-
Motherwell 0-2 Rangers
Cedric Kipre has been given a great chance to develop his skills at Motherwell. At 20 years old, the Frenchman has the physical attributes to compete with all of the Scottish Premiership strikers but having watched him last week in Motherwell`s 1-0 home win over Berwick Rangers, he has to improve his sharpness and distribution.
The signing of Bruno Alves should bring some much-needed muscle, experience and leadership in the heart of the Rangers defence. Still able to play at major international tournaments at the age of 35 for Portugal, Alves has the qualities to ensure Rangers can challenge at the top of the table and possibly get their hands on one of the domestic cups.
Ian Crocker's prediction-
Motherwell 2-2 Rangers
Like the look of Alves and Jack and Candeias looks like he has something to offer. Dorrans and Jack already look a quality partnership in centre midfield. Kenny Miller will still be a huge influence, though!
Aberdeen v Hamilton Accies - Sunday 3pm
Aberdeen 2-0 Hamilton
There`s been a big turnover of players at Pittodrie this season and the one who has caught the eye of the fans is loan signing Ryan Christie. His contribution already to the hopes of the Dons getting to the group stages of the Europa League has been impressive and he has the vision and skill to both score and assist in what will be a big season for him.
Given their very modest resources, Hamilton will, as usual, be favourites to be relegated this season. The truth is that manager Martin Canning works wonders every year he keeps his team in the top flight. Clearly, he'll be hoping that Xavier Tomas, a centre-back signing from Switzerland side Lausanne, will be good enough to cope with the loss of long-term injury victim Michael Devlin.
Ian Crocker's prediction-
Aberdeen 2-0 Hamilton
The on-loan return of Ryan Christie will be crucial to Aberdeen's hopes but I really liked the look of Greg Stewart at Dundee. Thought Rangers might have gone for him!
