Celtic Park is engulfed in green smoke as the flag is unfurled. You'll Never Walk Alone rings around the stadium.

We're seconds away from the new Premiership season kicking off!

Leanne Crichton
Former Scotland international on BBC Sportsound

I'm not seeing a lot of cover if you take Carl Starfelt out.

There's been speculation about guys like Liam Scales as well. I think Starfelt came on to a game last season. He's been a bit of a scapegoat, but domestically he's a good defender.

I don't see the logic in letting him leave just now.

James Forrest will be given the honour of unfurling the champions flag at Celtic Park, in his testimonial year.

What a servant he's been, and I wonder if he will have more influence this year than he did under Ange Postecoglou, when game time was limited.

Here he comes league trophy in hand...

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Ross County boss Malky Mackay tells BBC Sportsound that there is "no harder start" for his side.

"It's a tough one for us without doubt," he adds. "We need to make it difficult for Celtic and not give them the space they want.

"We need to make sure we're a threat as well. If you camp in, it's inevitable they'll score. We need to lay a glove.

"It's a dangerous team we're playing against. At any time they punish a team by six of seven."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers confirms Carl Starfelt could leave the club this summer.

The Sweden defender - a key player in Celtic's treble success last season - is among the substitutes for the start of Rodgers' second tenure.

"Carl may be leaving the club," Rodgers tells BBC Scotland Sportsound.

"He's been fantastic but we may lose him. So this is a chance for Maik [Nawrocki] to build a partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers."

Rodgers is excited to kick off his return and adds: "At Celtic you always have to prove a point. I want to give the Celtic fans more of those magical moments we had.

"Celtic is all about winning and doing it with style. That never changes and that's what we've been preparing for."

• Celtic have won each of their last eight consecutive meetings with Ross County in all competitions since a 0-1 defeat under Neil Lennon in February 2021.
• Ross County have never won a league visit to Celtic in 16 previous attempts (D3 L13), losing each of their last nine in a row by an aggregate score of 1-29 since a 1-1 draw in April 2016.
• Celtic have won 20 of the last 21 occasions in which their opening league match of a season has been at home (D1). They haven’t lost on home soil on MD1 of a league campaign since 1950-51 to Morton (3-4), going unbeaten in 33 such matches since (W29 D4).

• Celtic’s returning manager Brendan Rodgers is unbeaten in his last 10 managerial league games on MD1 (W8 D2), including winning all three season openers as Celtic boss from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Image source, BBC Sport

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

It'll be interesting to see what changes Brendan brings to the team.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. If he changes it up, how will the players adapt?

Is David Turnbull in midfield instead of Reo Hatate because he puts his foot on the ball more?

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park

There's so much scrutiny on Brendan Rodgers and the impact he'll make following his shock return to Celtic. It's a hard act to follow off the back of a treble but he has been there done that.

The big news is the omission of Carl Starfelt from the starting line up with Rodgers confirming he may be leaving the club. New signing Maik Nawrocki comes straight in.

For Ross County, it couldn't be much tougher as they plot a route to a more comfortable Premiership campaign. Malky Mackay will likely need his side to be absolutely on the top of their game.

Martin Watt
BBC Sport Scotland

Maintaining domestic dominance and making inroads in the Champions League group stage is the challenge now facing Brendan Rodgers in his second spell.

Having inherited a treble-winning squad from Ange Postecoglou, a rebuild was not required this summer but Rodgers has to cope with two surprise exits in Jota and Aaron Mooy.

In have come five new signings for a combined total of around £11.5m. As it stands, it's open to question whether Celtic are any stronger than last season.

Image source, SNS

Potential abounds in the club's four other new recruits. The 'buy young, develop, and sell on' model has served Celtic well in recent years and newly arrived wingers Hyun-jun Yang and Marco Tilio are both 21, while Odin Thiago Holm is 20 and fellow midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu 22.

The club's best bit of business this summer may well be extending the contract of talismanic striker Kyogo Furuhashi until 2027. Captain Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda have also signed new deals, ensuring stability.

You can read Martin's piece in full here.

A reminder, each Premiership team has a dedicated page which hosts all the latest news, views, and analysis.

You can also sign up for alerts so you don't miss a thing. So, if you haven't already, get the BBC Sport app downloaded.

Access the pages here.

Dundee United made a statement of intent in the Championship last night, dismantling Arbroath 4-0. And it could've been more.

It'll be intriguing to see how the others respond come 15:00 this afternoon.

Image source, BBC Sport

A smattering of our pundits have given their pre-season predictions.

Celtic are the favourites for the title, among the majority. Have a read in full here.

They are the holders, and winners in 11 of the last 12 seasons, but the beauty of football is come day one you've got it all to prove again!

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

With all due respect to the monied clubs of world football, a manager in the Premier League in England helping to fix the height of a crossbar an hour before kick-off, as Livingston's David Martindale did last season, is not something you are ever likely to see.

You're also unlikely to witness Bundesliga players doing rock, paper, scissors to determine who takes a free-kick, as St Johnstone's men did against Celtic.

And it's improbable that the hospitality division of a La Liga 2 outfit would get the Spanish equivalent of Arbroath's Bobby Linn to sign a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie and hand it over as a raffle prize, as the winger did last season.

Scottish football's ability to evoke embarrassment and rage, pride and joy endures. It gets under the skin.

You can read Tom's full piece here.

Here is what lies ahead. Celtic and Ross County start us off, and Kilmarnock host Rangers this evening.

The meat in the Scottish football sandwich are three tasty games at three o'clock at Dens, The Tony Macaroni, and McDiarmid Park.

Lovely stuff.

Image source, BBC Sport

Ross County boss Malky Mackay has picked the same side that drew 3-3 with Kelty Hearts in the final match of the Viaplay Cup group stage.

Yan Dhanda plays in behind Simon Murray and Jordan White, which should be a good front three in this division, though they're unlikely to get many chances this afternoon.

They'll need to be clinical if they do.

Image source, SNS

Polish centre-back Maik Nawrocki is handed a Celtic debut in Brendan Rodgers' first game in charge of his second spell.

Fellow new arrivals Yang Hyun-jun, Odin Thiago Holm and Kwon Hyeok-kyu are on the bench, while Reo Hatate and Carl Starfelt are also among the subs.

Liel Abada takes the right-wing berth left vacant by Jota's summer exit.

Image source, sns

Celtic: Hart, Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Nawrocki, Taylor, McGregor, O'Riley, Turnbull, Abada, Maeda, Kyogo.

Substitutes: Bain, Starfelt, Yang, Holm, Oh, Kwon, Tomoki, Hatate, Forrest.

Ross County: Laidlaw, Randall, Nightingale, Baldwin, Harmon, Brown, Dhanda, Sims, Loturi, Murray, White.

Substitutes: Munro, Allardice, Turner, Sheaf, Henderson, Samuel, Brophy, Smith, Reid.

Welcome, friends. Another season of premium cinch Premiership action is about to begin.

Champions Celtic will unfurl the flag before taking on Ross County, who survived by the skin of their teeth last term.

We'll bring you all the action and reaction, plus the other four games taking place later this afternoon.

Image source, SNS