Scottish Premiership 2025/26: Talking points for every club ahead of the new campaign which begins live on Sky Sports

Ahead of the new Scottish Premiership campaign – which begins with four matches live on Sky Sports across the opening weekend – we analyse the talking points at every club…

Can Aberdeen balance domestic and European duties?

Aberdeen’s first Scottish Cup triumph in 35 years provided the added bonus of guaranteed league phase European football.

However, the last time the Dons had to balance continental action with league duties, they struggled. It cost Barry Robson his job and ultimately, the team failed to make it into the top six.

Jimmy Thelin has spent the summer building a team to compete on two fronts this term, adding eight new players to his Scottish Cup-winning squad to cope with the demands of regularly playing twice a week.

The Swede will be hoping for a similar start to last campaign, where they won 10 of their first 11 league matches.

Are Celtic stronger or weaker than last season?

Despite the return of fans’ favourite Kieran Tierney from Arsenal this summer, many Celtic supporters are concerned that the club are still yet to replace winger Nicolas Kuhn or striker Kyogo Furuhashi.

Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton believes: “If you’re a Rangers fan, you’re quite encouraged the lack of business which Celtic have done.”

The Hoops have added to their squad, but Tierney is perhaps the only summer recruit that you could confidently say has improved their strongest XI.

With the league starting on Sunday and Champions League qualifiers coming up in three weeks, manager Brendan Rodgers will be eager to get more business done quickly after admitting the club “still has work to do in the market”.

Pressley’s Dundee favourites for the drop?

Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd thinks so. Dundee were the only top-flight side to be knocked out of the Scottish League Cup during the group stages, with new boss Steven Pressley suffering defeats to second-tier Airdrieonians and third-tier Alloa Athletic in his first two competitive matches.

It’s not going to be easy for the new head coach.

The club have lost a number of key players this summer; including academy graduates Lyall Cameron and Josh Mulligan, who have joined Premiership rivals Rangers and Hibernian on free transfers.

Fans are already anxious about the new season, having only avoided the drop on the final day of the last campaign.

Can Dundee United repeat last season’s heroics?

“It’s going to be very difficult,” according to boss Jim Goodwin.

The Tangerines secured European football with a fourth-place finish as a newly promoted side, but the Tannadice Park manager has had his squad ripped up in the summer window.

Top goal scorer Sam Dalby and captain Ross Docherty are among the list of 20 players who left Tannadice in the summer, with Goodwin having to bring in 12 new signings to help rebuild the squad.

They’ll need to gel quickly if Dundee United are to finish in the top six and achieve European football again.

Can Falkirk make the step up?

This is the same question that was asked of John McGlynn’s Falkirk last season, and they answered it by securing a second successive promotion.

But the Premiership is an even bigger jump, especially for such a young squad which still features 14 players from the invincible League One-winning team of two seasons ago.

The manager knows continuity has been a “big part” of their success and has added experience this summer in the form of striker Brian Graham from Partick Thistle and goalkeeper Scott Bain from Celtic.

Will that be enough to survive in Scotland’s top flight?

How will Hearts’ new era unfold?

Former Kilmarnock and Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes is the new man in charge in a new era at Tynecastle as the club welcomed nearly £10 million of investment from Brighton owner Tony Bloom in the summer.

Bloom’s analytics firm, Jamestown Analytics, who also work with Italian club Como and Belgian side Union Saint Gilloise, have been aiding Hearts’ recruitment team.

They’ve made a good start to the season too! The Jambos are in red-hot form heading into the league campaign, having scored four goals in each of their four Scottish League Cup group stage matches.

Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton have McInnes’s men as favourites to finish third, with the former believing they could split the Old Firm “in the next few years”.

Can Hibs deliver consistency?

Hibernian couldn’t have finished last season any differently to the way they started it.

Despite being bottom of the league at the start of December, the Hibees rallied to go on a 17-game unbeaten run and finish in third spot.

The challenge for head coach David Gray this term is to find consistency and replicate the success of the second half of last campaign.

He’s been backed in the transfer window too, as the club broke its transfer record to secure the signature of forward Thibault Klidjé from Luzern.

With midfielders Jamie McGrath and Josh Mulligan also joining from Aberdeen and Dundee, Hibs fans will be hoping they are due another few rousing renditions of ‘Sunshine on Leith’ after famous victories.

Kettlewell to inspire Killie?

After Derek McInnes left for Hearts in the summer, Kilmarnock turned to former Motherwell and Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell to lead the club this season.

He has big shoes to fill as McInnes was the man who brought the club back to the top flight before securing a top-six finish and European football. So what will Kettlewell’s legacy be?

Well, he has a proven track record of trusting young players, and so do Kilmarnock; academy graduates Bobby Wales and Reuben Cooper each earned moves to Swansea and Norwich this window.

Kilmarnock are also reigning Scottish FA Youth Cup winners, so could Kettlewell be about to uncover their next hidden gem?

Will we see a different Livingston this time round?

“We don’t want to just be here to survive,” – Livingston manager David Martindale.

His side had earned a reputation, whether warranted or unwarranted, for being physical and direct during their last spell in the Scottish Premiership.

However, Martindale has been consistent in his messaging since earning promotion via the play-offs that Livingston will look different upon their return to Scotland’s top flight.

With new owners in West Lothian, Martindale has more money to spend and has benefitted from a year of playing against ‘weaker’ opposition to hone his style of play.

How will Motherwell adapt to Askou’s style?

New manager Jens Berthel Askou joins the club with an impressive CV and a distinct “continental” possession-based style.

The former FC Copenhagen and Sparta Prague assistant successfully navigated their League Cup group but they were held to a draw by fourth-tier Clyde and only managed to beat third-tier sides Peterhead and Stenhousemuir by a single goal.

Perhaps the players are still getting used to his style of play, which captain Paul McGinn admitted will make the fans “nervous” but will be “really good to watch” when applied correctly.

Style aside, supporters will just be hoping that Askou lasts the season, having dealt with two resignations from Stuart Kettlewell and Michael Wimmer for non-football-related reasons last campaign.

Can Martin’s Rangers mount a title challenge?

Rangers have won just one top division title from the last 14, with no other serious title challenges in that period.

Russell Martin heads to Ibrox as the club’s fourth permanent manager in as many years, hoping to avoid his predecessors’ fate by delivering what they could not: the league trophy.

Martin’s side successfully advanced to the Champions League third qualifying round after beating Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate. However, it was clear the team aren’t yet fully comfortable implementing the new head coach’s style.

In theory, it should work domestically, with Rangers expected to dominate possession in most league matches. But should there be an acceptance that this could take time?

Top six for a fourth year running for St Mirren?

Outside of the Old Firm, St Mirren are the only club who have been in the top six for three years in a row.

Manager Stephen Robinson told Sky Sports he wants to achieve that again this term but understands how difficult that will be with a number of teams all fighting for one spot.

Although it rarely happens, the Old Firm, the Edinburgh clubs and Aberdeen are always expected to occupy the league’s top five positions, leaving just one place in the top half for the other seven teams in the league.

Robinson has done it three times for St Mirren and once for Motherwell, so why not again?