Margin growing again between two Glasgow rivals

The Celtic Star

·14 avril 2025

Margin growing again between two Glasgow rivals

Celtic are gliding towards another Scottish Premiership crown, one that represents a significant milestone in the history of the iconic Glasgow club…

Daizen Maeda of Celtic celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 2-0 lead. Celtic v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, Glasgow, 12 April 2025. IMAGO Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

For victory this season will see the Hoops draw level with the combined totals of rivals Rangers FC (54 titles) and its phoenix successor theRangers (one title) as having secured 55 top-flight titles.

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It will also be the first time that two of the three clubs have been level on victories since Rangers FC (now liquidated) matched their city rivals’ mark way back in 1929. At that time the number stood at 17 victories apiece. In the century since, the Glasgow clubs have continued their reign over the Scottish scene, with Celtic easily the dominant force in the 21st Century.

2025 glory?

The 2024-25 season has been one of dominance for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and a 55th Scottish Premiership crown is all but guaranteed. The first silverware of the campaign went the way of the Hoops after a thrilling penalty shootout win against theRangers at Hampden Park back on 15 December 2024.

Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic celebrates with teammates after the team’s victory in the penalty shoot out during the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

A 3-3 draw, featuring dramatic late goals, saw the tie go to extra time, but neither side could find a winner. The resulting shootout saw Celtic prevail 5-4 on penalties. The victory marked a 22nd success for the Bhoys in the competition, and they now sit only six wins behind the combined efforts of the Rangers clubs rin League Cup successes. Celtic also remain on course for a record-extending Scottish Cup success which would see the club continue to surge ahead of Rangers – the tally currently stands at 42 wins to 34 (33 plus one) in the Hoops’ favour.

Margin of success

When Celtic grab another Scottish Premiership success (and the betting offers are certainly closed on that particular outcome), the margin of victory in terms of league points will be of great interest. A title would represent a fourth in a row by the club from the East End of Glasgow, whose prominence over the Scottish scene dates back further.

Indeed, theRangers’ title success in 2020-21 sits as an outlier in an otherwise dominant spell from Celtic which has seen the club claim 12 of the last 13 titles. And that’s soon going to be 13 titles in 14 seasons for Celtic. And the margins of victory are significant over most recent times as it seemed the gap between the clubs had narrowed significantly.

Team mates celebrate with Kasper Schmeichel and Daizen Maeda after victory in a penatly shoot out during the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Betting markets for the Scottish Premiership, particularly in recent years, have seen punters consistently backing Celtic, with the odds reflecting their dominance. Historically, betting odds often favour Celtic, even in seasons where theRangers might seem to mount a serious challenge. Celtic’s dominance has led to consistent favourites’ status in bookmakers’ predictions, with odds frequently offering lower returns on Celtic victories. In fact, these markets have seen a steady stream of bets on the Hoops securing the title by increasingly larger margins.

Indeed, after claiming their 54th title way back in 2010-11, it’s been a fallow time for the clubs playing out of Ibrox, and of course a period that included the club’s catastrophic insolvency which saw Rangers FC go bust and a phoenix club started by Founding Father Charles Green in July 2012 where they began life in the old Scottish Third Division for the 2012-13 season. And to the misery of Rangers’ fans, Celtic turned the screw by dominating proceedings in the top tier.

Celtic title celebrations 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

It was initially Motherwell that pushed Celtic close, with the gap between the two sides only four points at the end of the 2012-13 campaign. That had extended dramatically out to 29 points by the end of the following campaign. The next club to challenge were Aberdeen, but the margin of victory read 17, 15 and 30 points over the next three seasons. The last of those campaigns saw a domination that was almost unparalleled in the history of the competition. By 2017-18 Aberdeen had reined in that margin to just nine points, the same number by which Celtic finished ahead of a slightly resurgent theRangers the following year. That margin was slightly extended out to 13 points by 2019-20.

Then came theRangers fairytale campaign of 2020-21 when the rest of the world was having a Covid nightmare, But if it seemed that the predominance of one of the two teams had finally turned, then it was normal service resumed the following campaign as Celtic finished four points ahead. But in terms of margins, it was as small as the league had known in recent times. Since then, the Hoops have been extending that gap, albeit gradually, with differences of seven points and eight points in 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively.

Where do we go from here?

Which brings us to the current campaign. Current projections would see Celtic secure a margin of victory somewhere between 12 and 15 points, which of course is an extension on the previous seasons. That’s worrying news for Gers’ fans, who would have hoped to have seen a narrowing of that gap at least. Celtic’s points projection is somewhat below the 99 the team secured last time round, so it’s theRangers’ own performances that will need to be scrutinised in that respect.

Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Indeed, theRangers’ tally of 92 points last season could well have been enough to secure the title this time around, or at least run their rivals mighty close. It’s been a season of upheaval at Ibrox stadium with the underperforming Philippe Clement replaced by playing legend Barry Ferguson on an interim basis. No perceivable upturn in results means the managerial hot-seat is still very much up in the air as we reach the end of the current campaign.

Nicolas Kuhn scores during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

As for Celtic, the points tally may fall below last seasons’, and there has been disappointment in Glasgow derbies this time around, barring that League Cup final, but it’s a campaign that could still well end in a Treble. Add promising Champions League performances to the mix (the club were of course narrowly defeated by German giants Bayern Munich in the post group stage playoff round) and it’s been a stellar effort from Brendan Rodgers and his men. And with that league gap increasing, the signs are good for next season and a push for what would be a record 56th title which will of course be more than the two Rangers clubs combined. We wait and see!