Currently on a run of three successive Scottish Premiership titles, pipping second-place Rangers on all three occasions, the 2024/25 season has commenced with much of the same. Celtic stormed to the top of the league, setting the pace as surprise contenders Aberdeen and Rangers drifted back of the front.
As 2025 begins, there’s a tremendous amount of football to be played, and yet, the glut of onlookers are, more or less, giving the crown to Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys already. They’re certainly a strong team that’s earned the top spot at the time of writing, but the season isn’t over yet.
If Celtic are to be pipped to the throne, it might take some intervention from forces beyond the Scottish Premiership rather than just a better run of form to the close of the campaign from Aberdeen and Rangers.
Cementing a Stranglehold
On December 3, Aberdeen weren’t in great form, but weren’t so far back that they couldn’t close in on the leaders. At the 90-minute mark of Aberdeen vs Celtic on December 4, people started to suspect that The Bhoys couldn’t be stopped. Celtic dominated the game stats, and a 78th-minute strike from Reo Hatate sealed the 1-0 win.
With that game in the bag, the league table read as Celtic boasting a nine-point lead over Aberdeen having won 14 and drawn one. The league leaders also had a game in hand on The Dons, as well as an 11-point gap on their Glaswegian rivals. With such dominance, keeping form would hand Celtic their record-tying 55th title.
This is the way that many experts are seeing the season going. As of December 10, across football betting markets, Celtic are the clear front-runners. At -5000, they seem almost unstoppable in the eyes of the oddsmakers, while only Rangers at +2000 and Aberdeen at +5000 are even considered to still have a shot. So, what can stop them?
Deep Run in Europe
In stark contrast to their Scottish Premiership hopes, Celtic weren’t expected to go too far in the UEFA Champions League this season. Popping up in the live scores each week, they’re usually up against it, and yet, at the six-game mark, Celtic remain in the 9-24 bracket to qualify for the playoffs.
Where it might get a bit trickier for Rodgers’ rotation plans is towards the end of January. On January 18, the host Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup, followed by welcoming Young Boys on January 22. The home stand continues into the weekend with Dundee coming to Celtic Park on January 25, but that Wednesday, it’s a trip to Aston Villa.
Had Celtic not shocked RB Leipzig 3-1 on November 5, drew with Atalanta in Italy 0-0 on October 23, and demolished Slovan Bratislava 5-1 on September 18, that may already be set as the end of Celtic in Europe this season. Six games done, as of December 10, Celtic boast nine points and are five clear of the drop zone.
Next up for Celtic, should they progress, would matches on February 11 or 12 and again on February 18 or 19 for the knockout playoff phase, potentially with a more favorable draw against the currently seeded Brest, Lille, Sporting CP, or even Atalanta if they don’t keep pace. The Round of 16 would then start on March 4.
January Could be a Nervous Time
As well as the fixtures being rather dense towards the back end of January, the transfer window is also open this month. It’s not uncommon for Celtic to give in to the offers from the big money league to the south. Not even by mid-December, we can already see some pretty weighty transfer rumors circling around Celtic’s top stars.
Perhaps the most concerning is that Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi was linked to Manchester City over the summer. It’s rare that City don’t get their target, and have a knack for uncovering gems from beyond the Premier League. With Erling Haaland not scoring enough to make up for defensive frailties, Furuhashi will be discussed.
Along with Furuhashi, his two green-and-white-hooped compatriots have also entered the rumor mill. Aston Villa are said to be looking at Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda, and Hatate continues to be of interest to an unnamed Ligue 1 club that already put in a £10 million bid in the summer.
On top of this, Cameron Carter-Vickers is being circled by the two Turkish giants and Atalanta, Nicolas Kühn might be fought over by both Brighton and Brentford, and more Ligue 1 clubs remain keen on Paulo Bernardo. One player who seems destined to leave is the now out-of-favor winger Luis Palma.
With European exploits on the cards and plenty of players impressing enough to draw the eye of bigger clubs, there’s a slight chance that January could end up derailing Celtic’s title charge.
