We are eight games into the Scottish Premiership season and we have already seen some major changes in the SPL.
Rangers have parted company with manager Michael Beale, Celtic have opened up a seven-point lead on the Gers at the top of the table and the league is starting to take shape.
As we move to the international break we have taken a look at the current state of the Scottish Premiership and selected a wager that can hopefully pay dividends at the end of the campaign.
Rangers to win the Scottish Premiership @ 11/4
Rangers parted ways with Beale with only seven games of the Scottish Premiership campaign played, they lost the first Old Firm clash of the season and they sit seven points behind title rivals Celtic in the SPL table.
However, the Gers are now 11/4 to win the title and their hopes may not be as distant as the price suggests.
The Light Blues have lost three Scottish Premiership matches this season, but their performances and the data has been better than that record suggests.
The Gers were beaten 1-0 by Celtic at Ibrox in September, but Rangers were the better side in that contest and they won the shot count 13-7 and the corner count 6-2.
A 3-1 home defeat to Aberdeen earlier this month was the result that cost Beale his job, but again that was a contest that Rangers dominated. The Govan outfit had 71 percent possession and 16 shots in that loss, but they were only able to score one goal.
Add in the opening day defeat to Kilmarnock and it’s a recurring theme that Rangers are struggling to convert their chances, but there are reasons to think that may change.
Beale had previously impressed in an extremely short spell in charge of QPR, but in truth Steve Gerrard’s former assistant was an unproven and untested manager and it’s quite possible that another gaffer will be able to get more out of a talented squad.
Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, who had been part of the Ibrox forward line for many years left in the summer and, although those players were replaced by the signings of Danilo, Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers, it was always likely to take time for that new attacking unit to bed in.
When you consider that many of the issues Rangers have faced this season have been caused by their inability to finish off the chances they have been creating, it’s easy to see that it can be remedied as the new-look forward line becomes a more effective unit.
That suggests that Rangers can improve under a new manager, and as the season progresses, and that may not be the case for Celtic.
The Bhoys haven’t looked like the dominant treble-winning force of last season and that is no surprise given what former manager Ange Postecoglou is achieving with Tottenham.
It wouldn’t take a great deal of improvement from Rangers to close in on Celtic and it certainly doesn’t appear to need as much of an upturn as quotes of 11/4 suggest.
Enter Content text here
Share Article
