Statistical title race prediction brings Rangers back down to earth, but Celtic gap will be closed
The excitement of Michael Beale’s appointment at Rangers has fans dreaming of a title charge, but the latest statistical prediction will dampen hopes.
Rangers find themselves trailing nine points behind Celtic as the Scottish Premiership prepares to resume this week, but Beale’s arrival has injected a huge wave of optimism at the club.
The 42-year-old won the league title with Gers during his final season as Steven Gerrard’s assistant and the Ibrox faithful will hope he can at least close the gap to their Glaswegian archrivals this season.
The latest Euro Club Index prediction suggests that Rangers will close the gap to Celtic this season – but only by one point.
As reported by the BBC, the statistical prediction – which takes into account every team’s attacking potency, defensive solidity, and the players at their disposal – has Rangers finishing on 76 points at the end of the season, with Celtic topping the table with 84.
Rangers’ hopes aren’t entirely dead though. The prediction did give Rangers a 20% chance of pipping Celtic to the title, with Beale’s side the only team in contention to challenge 80% favourites Celtic.
Never say never
There’s no point pretending as if Celtic aren’t huge favourites to win the title. Ange Postecoglou’s side capitalised on the poor form of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and opened up a gap that looks increasingly hard to close.
But a 20% chance is still worth fighting tooth and nail for. It’d be a remarkable achievement for Beale to join the club midway through a season and pip Celtic to a title.
Frankly, the Old Firm derby clashes could decide it. If Celtic are able to get the better of Gers on the big stage then the gap starts to look insurmountable, but victory for Rangers would chip away at their lead and pile the pressure on in the business end of the season.
That’s perhaps Beale’s biggest strength this season – there’s no pressure. Rangers aren’t expected to chase down Celtic and win the title, so anything on top of that is extra.
Hopefully, the new manager bounce will have Rangers building up some strong form to make sure Celtic have to stay on their toes. Gers also have the advantage of playing first this week. If Beale is able to beat Hibernian then Celtic travel to Aberdeen knowing the gap has already been slashed to six points.
In other Rangers news, the sale of Calvin Bassey could be used as a benchmark by Celtic in their Josip Juranovic negotiations