Scottish Premiership: Who will win the race for third place?
- Published
Will Motherwell and Aberdeen be competing for third place again this season?
The identity - if not the order - of the Scottish Premiership's top two this season might be pretty cut and dried, but the race for the final European spot is wide open.
Motherwell finished best of the rest in last term's shortened campaign, with Aberdeen hot on their heels and both will likely be in the mix again this term.
BBC Scotland runs the rule over all the contenders for the second Europa League spot this season.
Finished third last season, after being a point ahead of Aberdeen when the season was curtailed with eight games to play.
They'll need to hope recruits such as Livingston defender Ricki Lamie and Inverness striker Jordan White can make the same impact as Declan Gallagher and Liam Polworth before them if they want to maintain their upward curve.
They'll be boosted by the return of a fully-fit David Turnbull, who missed most of last season with the knee injury which torpedoed his move to Celtic, and fellow academy graduate Jake Hastie, who returns on loan from Rangers.
Manager Stephen Robinson transformed his side's style of play 18 months ago and has received plenty of plaudits for their new attacking outlook. The task is to maintain that consistency, which is something very few clubs have managed over a sustained period in the top flight.
Since Derek McInnes took charge in 2013, only Celtic have been more consistent in the Premiership than Aberdeen.
But in the last two seasons - largely due to a struggle to replace the likes of Kenny McLean and Graeme Shinnie - they have not lived up to their own standards and have been beaten to third by Kilmarnock and Motherwell.
Some fans grew weary of laboured performances and the challenge for McInnes is to gain greater control in midfield and inject more speed and incision in attack this season. Seemingly in recognition of this, the club released a new "philosophy and strategy", promising " winning performances that get supporters up off their feet, with intensity and pace".
There wasn't much evidence of that in their opening-day defeat by Rangers, and the absence of Sam Cosgrove for up to 10 weeks is something they will need to adapt to quickly.
Despite finishing seventh last season on a points-per-game basis, Hibernian are fourth-favourites with the bookmakers to win the title this season.
Budget-wise it makes sense, and not many would disagree that the squad underperformed last season. After taking over from Paul Heckingbottom in November, Jack Ross stopped the campaign slipping into a disaster, but there was no spectacular transformation.
The Easter Road side were the league's top scorers outside of the Old Firm, but only the bottom three conceded more. So far, the only defensive-minded reinforcement to arrive is Alex Gogic from Hamilton, but he is likely to firm up a team noted for its soft centre.
The evidence of the opening weekend win at home to Kilmarnock was encouraging defensively, and they still looked a threat going forward. Hibs still have plenty to prove, but third is a realistic ambition.
The other contenders
There always seems to be a surprise package who defies expectations. Motherwell and Kilmarnock have unexpectedly finished best of the rest in recent campaigns, and Livingston also upturned the odds to finish fifth last term.
It would be an incredible achievement if Gary Holt's side were to improve on that, though, especially given they have lost some of their best players yet again.
Kilmarnock still have a core of players that got them into Europe a couple of season ago, such as Gary Dicker, Alan Power, and Eamonn Brophy, while Lawrence Shankland's goals could propel Mickey Mellon's newly promoted Dundee United into the mix.
St Johnstone, meanwhile, have been top-six regulars for a while but will have to do it this time without Tommy Wright in the dugout.
There is little to choose between most of the teams in the Premiership, which means there is always the prospect of a team surprising everyone.