Scottish Premiership 2026/27 season begins with all matches live
Opening Weekend Fixtures and Broadcast Details
The Scottish Premiership is set to commence its 2026/27 season this week, with all six matches from the opening matchday scheduled for live broadcast. The action begins on Friday with Rangers traveling to face Dundee United. Saturday’s fixtures include Falkirk against St Mirren and Aberdeen hosting Hearts. On Sunday, St Johnstone will play Kilmarnock, while Hibs takes on Motherwell. The first weekend concludes on Monday with Celtic facing Dundee.
This season marks the first time all 12 clubs will have their opening weekend matches shown live. The new season follows a campaign where Celtic secured the title on the final day against Hearts.
Key Changes and Team Preparations
Several changes are notable for the new season. Only one artificial surface remains in the league, at the Falkirk Stadium, as Kilmarnock has transitioned to grass. The transfer window for the Scottish Premiership is scheduled to close on September 3 at 5 PM, two days after the Premier League window. Five Scottish clubs participated in European qualifiers this summer, with the race for the top four positions becoming increasingly important due to coefficient rankings.
Celtic, the reigning champions, will raise the league flag during their match against Dundee. St Johnstone, newly promoted, will also raise the Championship flag at home to Kilmarnock. This season will be the first since 2013 without Craig Gordon in Scottish football, as the 43-year-old retired following Scotland‘s exit from the World Cup. Celtic has broken their transfer record to sign Kasper Hogh from Bodo Glimt for £11m plus add-ons, to replace Daizen Maeda who moved to Ipswich.
International breaks have been adjusted, with two windows instead of three this year, including an almost three-week break in September and October. Rule changes mirroring those seen at the World Cup are also being implemented, such as VAR intervention for second yellow cards, a five-second countdown for throw-ins and goal kicks, and a 10-second limit for substitutes to leave the field.
Several clubs have new captains, including Aberdeen, Hearts, Kilmarnock, Rangers, and St Mirren, following departures such as Graeme Shinnie, Lawrence Shankland, Brad Lyons, James Tavernier, and Mark O’Hara. Motherwell‘s new manager, Alfred Johansson, is the youngest in the league at 35. Paul McGinn, also 35, is the oldest player in the division.
Managerial Moves and Title Aspirations
Rangers begins the season with a new manager for the fifth consecutive year, with Derek McInnes taking charge. McInnes previously managed Hearts, leading them to a strong title challenge last season before joining Rangers. He is tasked with winning the league title, a feat the previous five permanent Rangers managers did not achieve. Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland have followed McInnes from Hearts to Rangers, with Shankland having left Hearts one year into a three-year deal.
Hearts, after narrowly missing out on the title last season, have appointed Wouter Vrancken as their new head coach to replace Derek McInnes. Vrancken was named Belgian manager of the year last year. Hearts finished the previous season having led the table for 250 days, but lost 3-1 to Celtic on the final day in what was effectively a title play-off. Hearts have seen nine players depart and 12 new players arrive so far this season, with the club aiming to build on last season’s performance.
Martin O’Neill has returned to Celtic for his fourth spell, having guided them to a league and cup double last term after replacing Brendan Rodgers and then Wilfried Nancy. O’Neill‘s side secured a record-setting 56th title last season. The Opta supercomputer, after running 10,000 simulations for the 2026/27 season, predicts Celtic to be champions in 55.36% of simulations. Rangers are projected to win the title in 26.35% of simulations, while Hearts are predicted to win in 11.86% of simulations.
St Johnstone, after one year out, is back in the Premiership. They are the only newly promoted side, as St Mirren defeated Partick Thistle in the play-off final in May. Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson is starting his first full season at Pittodrie, and Rachel Corsie, a former Scotland captain, has been appointed to the club’s Board of Directors. The new season kicks off just 12 days after the World Cup final, with two new Spanish players, Unax Alvarez at St Johnstone and Samuel Ramos at St Mirren, joining the division.
Source: skysports.com
