The Scottish Premiership league table was finalised for the split last weekend and we now know when and where each game will be played. Whilst the title is all but wrapped up, there is still a lot to play in both halves of the table. There’s relegation and European places to be decided and a couple of interim managers looking to stake a claim for a permanent role.

The league now takes a week off whilst the Scottish Cup semi finals are played. We’ll take this chance to look over the fixtures and assess which teams look set for success (on paper at least). We’ll of course do this with an eye on who could excel in Sorare before the summer break.

On top of that, we’ll briefly touch on the Sorare implications for next season. There are players that pose a long-term risk, either due to relegation or transfer rumours. On the other hand those that qualify for Europe next season will add mid-week utility and potentially some really nice match-ups in qualifiers.

If you haven’t signed up to Sorare and fancy giving it a go, sign up via this referral link and earn a free limited card when you collect five cards via New Card Auctions.

Top Half

The top half is interesting from a Sorare perspective, it obviously features the better teams in the league with the higher scoring players. However, they will all have trickier than average match-ups given they have five games against each other. With an eye on next season, the battle for third is hugely important. Assuming one of the Old Firm sides with the Scottish Cup, whoever gets it will earn themselves a guaranteed spot in at least the Europa Conference group stage. In that scenario 4th and 5th place will earn themselves spots in Europa Conference qualifying rounds.

Celtic – Celtic aren’t quite mathematically champions yet, but they can be as soon as the first set of fixtures if they beat Hearts on the road. I can’t imagine they’ll take it easy against Rangers in the second game, but after that we could see a fair bit of rotation – especially if they qualify for the Scottish Cup Final. Usually that would mean Liel Abada getting some game time in the front three, but with him looking set to move this summer we should see Sead Haksabanovic play instead.

Rangers – Apart from the Old Firm derby and the Scottish Cup, Rangers only have pride to play for at this point in the season. They will be locked into second place and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers as soon as Celtic pick up a win. From a Sorare perspective they aren’t licensed, so there are only a few players of interest, but you should definitely be cautious of rotation from week 36 onwards. It looks like Antonio Colak will be on the way out this summer leaving Rangers in need of a new forward. Notable links from the Premiership include Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland and Hibs’ Kevin Nisbet.

Aberdeen – Aberdeen have been in fantastic form of the past two months, winning 7 on the bounce including a shock 2-0 victory over Rangers last weekend. It’s put them in the driving seat for third with a 5 point lead over the chasing pack. Looking toward next season, there has been speculation over a number of players, right midfielder/wing-back Ross McCrorie looks set to leave for England. There has also been interest in the strike duo of Bojan Miovski and Duk Lopes, I would imagine the Dons would like to keep one of the two but they have been open that they are a ‘selling club’.

Hearts – Hearts snapped a five game losing streak with a 6-1 demolition of Ross County at the weekend. It kept them in the race for 3rd and a win against Aberdeen, in match week 36 will close the gap to just two points. They do have question marks at right-back however with Michael Smith out for the rest of the season and his replacement, Nathaniel Atkinson, going off injured against Ross County. It won’t help for this season, but they have been linked with Livingston’s Nicholas Devlin to strengthen for next season.

Hibernian – Realistically, I think 3rd is out of Hibs’ reach, they’re 9 points back from Aberdeen and it’s hard to see them making that many points up. They do have a chance at overtaking city-rivals Hearts, if they can make up four points on them, but there biggest priority will be to pull clear of St Mirren (level on points) to likely secure European football for next season. Looking to next season one big question is the future of Kevin Nisbet, he was close to a move to Millwall in January and is rumoured to be on the Old Firm’s radar.

St Mirren – Like Hibs, St Mirren’s eyes will firmly be on securing 5th place and European football (probably). They also sit 4 points short of Hearts so there is some possibility of fourth spot. They’ve done well to re-sign goalkeeper Trevor Carson for next season but you’ve got to think they’ll be in the market for some attacking reinforcements. They’ve had the 4th best defence in the league this season, but have scored just 38 in 33 games with midfield general Mark O’Hara leading the way with 10 goals (5 penalties). Tony Watt hasn’t been a particularly successful loan signing in front of goal and Curtis Main (7 goals) looks set to move on.

Bottom Half

In the bottom half, we have two teams that are all but safe leaving them without much to play for the rest of the season. St Johnstone fall somewhere in between, they’re in 9th but given recent form they are getting sucked into the relegation fight. From a Sorare respective it’s a case of balancing the potential strong short-term performances against the risk of relegation and players no longer being covered on the platform. Bottom spot is the only guaranteed relegation spot, whilst finishing 11th results in a relegation playoff against a team from the Championship.

Livingston – It’s been a disappointing 2023 for Livingston so far. After looking good for a spot in the top half in January, they’ve picked up just 10 from a possible 33 points. On the plus side, their early season form has meant they’re all but safe sitting 11 points above 11th place. Looking to next season, Livingston have a number of first team starters coming to the end of their contracts including captain Nicholas Devlin. Goalkeeper Shamal George could look to move to a bigger club, with Rangers one of the clubs rumoured to be interested.

Motherwell – Motherwell have turned their form around since Stuart Kettlewell took charge in February. Last weekend they even managed a fantastic 1-1 away draw against Celtic. It’s left them 6 clear of the drop and it’s hard to see them getting dragged back into the relegation battle. From a Sorare perspective they’re a team to target for the rest for the season as, based on recent performance, they are the best of the teams in the bottom half. In the summer one player to keep an eye on will be top scorer Kevin van Veen. He was the subject of an offer from China over the winter that was rejected, and with his excellent recent form you imagine he will have suitors in Europe as well.

St Johnstone – Much like Livingston, St Johnstone’s form has nose-dived since the World Cup and unfortunately for them it has dragged them into the relegation battle. With them having taken just 9 points since Christmas Eve (from a possible 48) there isn’t a game you’d bank on them winning. They sit just two points above the relegation play-offs and I think there is a real chance of relegation this season. Personally, I don’t have much exposure to St Johnstone on Sorare and I certainly won’t be looking to increase that!

Dundee United – Relegation looked likely for Dundee United a few weeks ago, but they’ve re-found the form that had them in the top 6 last season. They’ve got a real chance to survive now with a four point gap over Ross County and a decent goal difference advantage over Kilmarnock. It means we can look a little more towards next season on Sorare, Mark Birighiti looks set to remain in goal next year so could be worth a pick-up. Dylan Levitt was excellent before a knee injury ended his season, picking him up now seems like a smart gamble.

Kilmarnock – The leagues worst away side picked up their first away win of the season last weekend with a 2-0 victory over Saint Mirren. It’s a huge result that gives them some breathing space over Ross County and keeps them in touch with 10th place. They’re a really decent team at Rugby Park and get three home games against Livingston, St Johnstone and Ross County. They have a great chance of at least being in the relegation play-offs at the end of the season, although it may come down to the final day game against Ross County.

Ross County – At 4 points adrift from 11th place, the best I can see Ross County is a spot in the relegation playoff. They’ve been goal-shy all season, but particularly away from home where they have scored just 11 in 16 games. They have road trips to their nearest rivals Dundee United and Kilmarnock as well as Motherwell. In all likelihood I think they will end up bottom this season and as such would avoid entirely on Sorare!

If you haven’t signed up to Sorare and fancy giving it a go, sign up via this referral link and earn a free limited card when you collect five cards via New Card Auctions.