Can Anyone Stop Celtic in Scotland?

Scottish football is continuing to go through a very uncompetitive stage at the moment in the Premiership, with Celtic far superior to any other team in the division.

Domestic success is a given for them, and has been for a few years now and they measure their success solely on how they do in the European competitions they enter. That doesn’t distract them from their league campaign too much, and just like last season, I expect they will canter to victory in the Scottish Premiership again this season.

The only two Scottish sides capable of standing up to Celtic are Rangers and Aberdeen, although both will admit they are a long way off Celtic’s standards right now. Both have the ability to beat Celtic in a one off game, although over the course of a season it will be very difficult to see either of them really testing the current champions.

Rangers will one day hope to challenge Celtic domestically, as they have done in the past and a resurgence from them is probably what Scottish football needs right now to bring back a bit of competitiveness. If they are to have any success this season, they need to build on the pre-season results they have had, not the embarrassing European defeat to Progres Niedercorn.

Aberdeen looks to be the safest bet when it comes to finding someone who will chase Celtic down. They have a good squad, although their European campaign will test that, and any injuries will cause them problems I imagine.

However, in Ryan Christie they have signed an exceptionally talented youngster who is sure to do well at Aberdeen. Should he play a big part in Aberdeen chasing Celtic it would be quite ironic, as he is currently at Aberdeen on loan from Celtic. However, it also shows the gulf in class when Celtic can afford to let a player out on loan, who becomes the best player at their nearest rivals.

It looks highly unlikely that anyone will be able to stop Celtic again this season in Scotland. They have a far superior squad than anyone else in the Premiership, both in terms of quality and depth. They will again test themselves on the European stage, but as far as domestic action goes, I can only see one winner of the league title this season.

Aberdeen and Rangers are the only two realistic candidates to chase them home, but even they look set to struggle once the pace picks up. Aberdeen has a small squad and any injuries or advancing in Europe will really hurt their chances of being able to keep up with Celtic for a full season.

Scottish football needs someone to step up and compete with Celtic, but for now it looks like we are set for another season of Celtic’s dominance. They look to be a class above and can take the Scottish Premiership in very easy fashion, like they have done in recent seasons.