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The Scottish Premiership begins on Saturday with Celtic’s home encounter against Ross County.
The campaign as a whole, though, promises to be thrilling. Celtic and Rangers will scrap it out at the top of the league for supremacy, followed by what promises to be an almighty battle between Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs to finish third.
Beyond that, the competition to reach the top six will be intense, with little expected to be between the teams at the foot of the table in the relegation battle.
Here are five Scottish Premiership players to watch ahead of what is bound to be a memorable 2023/24 campaign.
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Scottish Premiership Players to Watch
Player: Kyogo Furuhashi
Team: Celtic
Position: CF
Market: Top Scorer
Last season’s top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi will again be one of the Scottish Premiership players to watch this time around, with the 28-year-old Japan international set to dominate the scoring charts once again. At a best price of 4.33 to finish as the league’s leading marksman, he represents outstanding value.
Since arriving at Celtic in 2021, Kyogo has scored 39 goals in 56 league appearances and last season finished the campaign with a formidable 27 goals in 36 matches. The change of manager should not have too much of an impact on him, with Brendan Rodgers preferring to play a similarly up-tempo, attacking style as employed by Ange Postecoglou, and that bodes well for his goal return.
His rivals for the Golden Boot look few and far between. Kevin van Veen, who hit 25 last season, has departed Motherwell to go back to the Netherlands, while Lawrence Shankland on 24 was the only other player to get close.
Kyogo, who signed a four-year deal with Celtic at the start of the summer and looks set to remain with the club, looks a strong bet here.
Player: Danilo
Team: Rangers
Position: CF
Market: Top Scorer
Rangers are pinning their attacking hopes this season on new signing Danilo, who is undoubtedly their Scottish Premiership player to watch ahead of the 2023/24 season. Indeed, the £5 million that the Gers have paid to sign the striker from Feyenoord is the biggest outlay on any individual player in the league so far this summer.
The 24-year-old brings with him big expectations. Rangers have allowed last season’s leading forward Antonio Colak to leave (although right-back James Tavernier, a set-piece specialist actually scored more league goals than him) while Alfredo Morelos has departed, too.
Danilo arrives after scoring ten Eredivisie goals last season at a rate of one every 133 minutes he was on the field. Previously, he managed 17 in 33 league matches for Twente. If Rangers are going to challenge Celtic for the title, he will have to replicate such numbers and, ideally, start at a sprint.
Player: Lawrence Shankland
Team: Hearts
Position: CF
Market: Top Scorer
Hearts endured a frustrating 2022/23 season, finishing fourth amid a prolonged injury crisis, but for striker Lawrence Shankland it was another successful campaign on a personal basis. With 24 goals over the course of the term, Shankland was in the running to finish as top scorer until the very end, enjoying the best season of his career in the process.
Although Hearts have added Kyosuke Tagawa in attack to offer more competition, Shankland is set to be a centrepiece for the Jambos once again as they seek to reclaim third place, a bet that is best priced at 2.88.
The striker has put a disappointing spell at Beerschot in Belgium behind him, and last season was the fourth in his last five campaigns in Scotland in which he has netted at least 24 league goals. Admittedly, the other three of these were at a lesser level.
Nevertheless, best priced at 13 to be top scorer this season, Shankland is an attractive option as an each-way bet.
Player: Will Fish
Team: Hibernian
Position: CB
Market: Hibernian to win Scottish Premiership (without Celtic or Rangers)
Manchester United left centre-back Will Fish in Edinburgh following their preseason match against Lyon at Murrayfield, with the 20-year-old hooking up with the Easter Road club for a second time after a successful loan period at the end of 2022/23.
Hibs have ample attacking talent in their ranks, led by Martin Boyle, Christian Doidge and Elie Youan, but where they are vulnerable is at the back. It is hoped that the youth of Fish will dovetail with the experience of Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon – both in their mid-30s – to make them an altogether more solid unit.
“During his first season with us he showed that he is a player with real quality, and he adds composure and consistency to our back-line.” manager Lee Johnson said upon his return.
If Hibs are going to finish third they need him to realise his potential, making him one of the Scottish Premiership’s players to watch.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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There are so many ways to get involved with the action ahead of the big kick-off and William Hill new customers can benefit from £30 in free bets when you sign up and place a £10 bet.
