Celtic begin their title defence tonight when they host Dundee at Parkhead in their first match of the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season.
Title defence begins
The Hoops secured their 56th title last season in dramatic fashion, clinching the SPL trophy on the final day of the campaign with two late goals against rivals Hearts. That secured their fifth consecutive title, and they start their quest for a sixth this evening.
Martin O'Neill remains at the helm after helping the Scottish giants twice last term. With foes Rangers dropping points on the opening weekend of the season, Celtic will be hoping to lay down an early marker.
Match details and broadcast info
The match kicks off at 7.30pm on Monday, August 3, at Parkhead, Glasgow. It will be shown live on Sky Sports, with coverage on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event. Sky customers can also stream the game via the Sky Go app.
Manager and pundit quotes
O'Neill discussed tactical flexibility, saying: “I know that we played a 3-5-2 a lot of times, but then we changed it when some teams cottoned on to it. European matches as well too. And then we ended up changing to 4-4-2. We played that very, very often.”
He added: “But we had serious running power wide. Didier Agathe couldn’t be stopped going forward. So if it meant us having to adjust to get them to play together, that shouldn’t be a problem. Famous last words, but it shouldn’t be.”
O'Neill continued: “And this is the point, we should be able to adapt. We’ve played this 4-3-3 system for quite some considerable time. It’s been successful, which is fine. But we should be able to adapt during the course of the game. It’s only a matter of changing people ten yards in, ten yards out. Really, there’s not much more than that.”
Steven Pressley noted: "Celtic haven't lost an opening-day fixture at home for nearly 76 years." He added: "But I also like those challenges. I think our players respond well to those challenges."
