Rangers have placed themselves in a strong position to defend their Premiership crown with over half of the 2021-22 campaign already gone.
Gers signed off for the winter break with a 2-0 win over St Mirren on Boxing Day to maintain their six-point lead over Celtic at the top of the standings.
That victory extended Rangers’ unbeaten streak to 18 matches, winning each of the last nine and keeping six successive clean sheets.
They’ve only lost once all campaign, going down 1-0 at Dundee United in August, and it’s no surprise to see them priced up as 4/11 favourites to win the title.
The departure of Steven Gerrard, who opted to take up the opportunity to manage Aston Villa in November, hasn’t had a detrimental impact on performances with new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst keeping the momentum going.
Van Bronckhorst, who played for Rangers between 1998 and 2001, has won eight and drawn one across all competitions, helping the club through to the Europa League playoff round as well.
Rangers return to domestic action on January 18 when they travel to Pittodrie to take on sixth-placed Aberdeen in a 19:45 kick-off.
The league leaders are priced at 20/43 to beat 19/4 Aberdeen with the draw available at 3/1.
Aberdeen finished fourth last season and were just starting to find some consistency before the winter break.
The Dons won four of their five games leading up to the break but adding another victory to their tally looks unlikely against Rangers, having failed to pick up three points in this fixture since 2018.
Familiar Feel at the Top
Once again it’s a two-horse race in Scotland with Celtic priced at 19/10 to reclaim the Premiership title this season.
Celtic’s sluggish start under new boss Ange Postecoglou could prove costly come the end of the campaign, although they are doing their best now to atone for those lacklustre performances.
They lost their season-opener at newly-promoted Hearts before dropping further points in losses against Rangers and Livingstone, while they also drew with Dundee United.
The Bhoys have been much more consistent of late, however, and a Boxing Day win at St Johnstone extended their unbeaten streak to 14.
The Scottish Premiership resumes on January 17 when 4/13 Celtic head to 29/4 Hibernian with the draw priced at 15/4.
Returning Hearts Going Strong
Hearts will feel content with their performances after 20 games, having only come back up to the top-flight this term, and they sit third but are unlikely to mount a challenge for the title with a 15-point gap to Rangers.
But Robbie Neilson will feel it’s a job very well done if he can guide the Edinburgh outfit into Europe.
Meanwhile, Motherwell are well on track to better last season’s tally of 45 points when they finished eighth and missed out on European football only down to goal difference.
The Well are currently in fourth place and have 31 points to their name as Graham Alexander continues to work his magic.
All to Play for at the Bottom
The relegation fight looks set to be an interesting one with just six points separating rock-bottom St Johnstone and Livingston in eighth.
St Johnstone lost seven in a row before heading off for their winter break and they sit two points behind Dundee and four shy of Ross County.
The Saints are 5/1 to claim a shock win when they head to 10/19 Hearts on January 18, while Dundee can be backed at 49/20 to overcome 1/1 Livingston.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
