How Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and Premiership rivals compare on opening day of the season

The 2022/23 Scottish Premiership season kicks off this weekend when Livingston host Rangers.

It will kick start a hectic weekend of football and a hectic fixture schedule prior to the World Cup in Qatar which begins in November.

This season is the 25th since the rebrand to the Scottish Premier League in 1998 then to the Scottish Premiership in 2013.

With that in mind, how do the current 12 Premiership sides tend to fare in their first league match of the season.

The results, collated by bettingexpert, are largely unsurprising.

Celtic and Rangers average the highest points per game tally. The former number stands at 2.63 points with 20 wins from 24 matches. As for Rangers it is 2.35 points per game. Their 20 opening day fixtures have yielded 14 wins.

Hearts are best of the rest and just ahead of Hibs with 1.68 compared to 1.6.

Aberdeen are next with their 1.29 points per game, joined by Livingston and Ross County as the only top-flight outfits with a figure above 1.2.

The Scottish Premiership gets underway this season. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

At the other end of the spectrum, the first game of the season is not often a pleasant one for St Mirren. The Buddies have won just three of their last 14 opening day matches in the top-flight, earning a points per game total below one.

It’s worse for St Johnstone. While St Mirren’s average stands at 0.93 points per game, the Perth Saints' figure is 0.88. A bugbear of the club's fans was the number of away fixtures the team would start with.

How the 12 Premiership clubs fare on opening day:

Celtic – 2.63 (Wins: 20 Draws: 3 Losses: 1)

Rangers – 2.35 (Wins: 14 Draws: 5 Losses: 1)

Hearts – 1.68 (Wins: 11 Draws: 4 Losses: 7)

Hibs – 1.6 (Wins: 9 Draws: 5 Losses: 6)

Aberdeen – 1.29 (Wins: 8 Draws: 7 Losses: 9)

Livingston – 1.22 (Wins: 3 Draws: 2 Losses: 4)

Ross County – 1.22 (Wins: 3 Draws: 2 Losses: 4)

Dundee United – 1.15 (Wins: 5 Draws: 8 Losses: 7)

Motherwell – 1.08 (Wins: 7 Draws: 5 Losses: 12)

Kilmarnock – 2.63 (Wins: 6 Draws: 6 Losses: 11)

St Mirren – 0.93 (Wins: 3 Draws: 4 Losses: 7)

St Johnstone – 0.88 (Wins: 3 Draws: 6 Losses: 8)