For so long, the top of the Scottish Premier League has been made up of the Old Firm duo of Rangers and Celtic but, with the former demoted to the Third Division after their liquidation and subsequent reformation, there will be a new look and fresh feel about the table in 2012-13.

Rangers’ absence offers the likes of Dundee United, Hearts and Aberdeen the chance to push Celtic, while Dundee, who have finally been given the go-ahead to replace Rangers, join their city rivals in the division and are already looking forward to the renewal of the Dundee derby on August 19.

Saturday sees five games taking place with defending champions Celtic’s hosting of Aberdeen in the lunchtime kick-off the highlight.

Celtic v Aberdeen

Neil Lennon, like many SPL managers this summer, has had to work prudently in the transfer market and has only added goalkeeper Fraser Forster to his squad, while several squad players have been moved on.

However, the Bhoys are expected to get off to a perfect start (Celtic 1/4, Aberdeen 10/1, draw 5/1 – 90 minutes betting) and are likely to have too much for  the Dons in the season’s opener. A correct score bet of 2-0 looks tasty in this at 11/2.

Prediction: Home win.

Hearts v St Johnstone

The Tynecastle clash between these two, in contrast, is less clear-cut although the Jambos are favourites to come out on top (Hearts EVS, draw 5/2, St Johnstone 13/5 – 90 minutes odds) and get their campaign off to a winning start.

Last season Hearts finished just two points ahead of the Perth-based club with the duo fifth and sixth in the final standings, so there was little to choose between them across the campaign. Expect this game to be tight as well with a draw at 5/2 worth backing.

Prediction: Draw.

Kilmarnock v Dundee

Dundee (3/1 – 90 minutes betting) have been hoping to get the nod to replace Rangers all summer but the late confirmation of their place in the top flight has meant a few months of uncertainty for boss Barry Smith. He says his side are relishing a tilt at the SPL this season even though he admits it has been difficult strengthening his squad.

Killie (10/11, draw 12/5) finished a respectable seventh last term and will hope for something similar in 2012-13. Only Jeroen Tesselaar and Rory Boulding have been recruited so far and their opposition, as SPL newcomers, will be up for the challenge at Rugby Park but a narrow home win still looks on the cards here.

Prediction: Home win.

Ross County v Motherwell

This is one of the stand-out opening-day games with many predicting County will put on a good show in the SPL following their impressive title-winning campaign in Division One last term.

Boss Derek Adams has been one of the busier managers over the summer and the signings of Ross Tokely, Gary Glen, and Martin Scott look astue buys.

Motherwell finished third, though, last season and will be difficult first opponents for County (17/10, draw 9/4). Stuart McCall is another manager who has had to shed several players from his squad but there is still enough quality there to ensure they claim the three points. Back an away win at a tempting 8/5.

Prediction: Away win.

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1. Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United to QPR, undisclosed)

Park was always a big-game player for Manchester United and often the ‘go-to’ man for Sir Alex Ferguson when he wanted someone to step up to the plate and attack from midfield. He won four Premier League titles, three League Cups and the Champions League during his time at Old Trafford and appears to be a very astute, and surprise, signing by Mark Hughes.

Officially, the fee is undisclosed but reports say the Hoops (9/2 – To be relegated) have only paid £2million for the South Korean and that could well be the bargain buy of the summer.

2. Hugo Rodellaga (Free agent to Fulham)

Rodallega’s release by Wigan came as somewhat of a surprise, although it is probably more a case of the Colombia international wanting to move on rather than Roberto Martinez deciding the striker was surplus to requirements at the DW Stadium.

While the 24-year-old can be inconsistent, he can also be devastating on his day and his overall goalscoring record is good despite just finding the net three times for Latics last season.

Martin Jol may have brought Rodallega in as a replacement for Clint Dempsey, who is set to leave the Cottage this summer, and he has landed himself an established Premier League forward who can hit double figues – or more – if he stays fit and gets the right support (Fulham 8/1 – to be relegated).

3. Olivier Giroud (Montpellier to Arsenal, undisclosed)

Arsene Wenger has failed with some big summer purchases in recent years – take Marouane Chamakh for example – but this deal should be one that comes off.

The 25-year-old notched 21 goals in 36 league appearances to help Montpellier claim their first Ligue 1 title last season and, while he is not in Robin van Persie’s class yet, he is highly-rated and a skilful addition to the Gunners frontline.

It is another officially undisclosed transfer but it is thought Wenger has paid in the region of £13million which may seem a tad pricey, but only if he doesn’t go on to fulfil his undoubted potential in the next few seasons at the Emirates (Arsenal 4/9 – Top 4 Finish).

4 – Steven Naismith (Rangers to Everton)

This transfer is still awaiting international clearance due to the ongoing financial wrangling at newco Rangers but Everton (18/1 – Top 4 finish) should eventually profit from another piece of apparent clever trading by David Moyes at Goodison Park.

Naismith has regularly been linked with a move south to the Premier League in recent years and now he has landed at probably the best club for him to make an impact. Under Moyes’ guidance the Scotland international can flourish and re-engage his old Rangers partnership with another similarly astute signing, Nikica Jelavic, in the new campaign.

5 – Pavel Pogrebnyak (Free agent to Reading)

The Royals (2/1 – Top Promoted Team) have bought well so far this summer as they hope to stay in the Premier League and this could end up being one of the deals of the transfer window.

The Russia international, who was part of his country’s Euro 2012 squad, impressed at Fulham while on loan at the end of last season, scoring six goals in just 12 games and, in the process, became the quickest player to reach five goals in Premier League history.

He is strong, powerful and clearly has an eye for goal so Brian McDermott’s side’s survival this season may just be dependant on him coming up with the goods.

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Portugal

Whether or not Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo can carry his domestic form into this month’s tournament will be crucial to the team’s chances of success

Ronaldo has emerged as a genuine contender to snatch Lionel Messi’s Ballon d’Or crown from his grasp, and the player has already stated publicly that he is desperate to perform in Ukraine and Poland this summer and boost his chances of scooping football’s most prestigious individual honour.

Ronaldo is 12/1 to finish as the tournament’s top scorer and an attractive 16/1 to be named the best player of Euro 2012.

But, much like Portugal’s chances of success depend largely on the form of the world-beating Madeira native, Ronaldo’s hopes of earning either accolade depend on his side’s fortunes at the tournament.

Portugal have been drawn in what has been christened by many observers as the ‘group of death’ and must finish ahead of two of three former European Championship winners to advance to the quarter-finals.

Holland, Germany and Denmark will undoubtedly provide tough opposition for Paulo Bento’s men, who are priced at 4/1 to win the group.

Awaiting the qualifiers from Group B at the quarter-final stage are Czech Republic, Greece, Poland or Russia, which suggests that qualification for the last four of the competition could be a much simpler proposition than securing a passage from the group stage.

Portugal are 11/4 to make the semi-finals and that price will narrow if they make it to the last eight, so those who fancy Os Navegadores to progress past the group stage would be well-advised not to sit on their hands and get in on the semi-final market at its present price.

In simple terms, if Portugal can get out of their group then they have a great chance of making the semis. But can they go even further?

Big guns Spain and Italy have been placed at the opposite side of the draw, which means Portugal could face another almighty hurdle on the path to a potential Euro 2012 Final appearance.

Bento’s men are 7/1 to make the final, which sounds rather generous, but the team will have to pull out all the stops to reach the tournament showpiece for the second time in eight years.

Portugual are priced at 20/1 to go one better than they did in 2004, when they were shocked by Greece in the final, and lift the trophy for the first time in the nation’s history, but a cursory glance at their potential path to glory suggests that 2012 may not be there year either.

But even if this may not be their tournament, there are several other attractive markets which factor in the performances of the Iberian underdogs.

Manchester United playmaker Nani is an incredible 40/1 to finish as the tournament’s top scorer, as is Besiktas marksman Hugo Almeida.

Many anticipate that all roads will lead to Ronaldo whenever Portugal take to the field, but both Nani and Almeida have proven prowess in front of goal, and a small amount wagered on both players in the tournament top scorer market has the potential to reap great rewards, particular if the team advances beyond the group stages.

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Here we look at three of the top deals done so far and assess what impact the players involved in the moves could have in 2011/12.

The past week has seen several Premier League clubs begin their summer rebuilding for real and it is only going to get busier ahead of the new campaign – which begins on August 13.

Plenty of money has been spent already with Sunderland the most active club so far but how will these three players fare after completing moves already this summer?

Jordan Henderson – Sunderland to Liverpool

This was one of the early transfers struck as Liverpool (10/1 – Premier League outright) landed the midfielder before he headed out for England Under 21’s disappointing European Championship campaign in Denmark.

There were many raised eyebrows as the Reds forked out £16million for a player who undoubtedly has potential but has only had one full season in the Premier League.

It certainly represents a risk for Kenny Dalglish to have paid so much for someone relatively unproven but those in the know reckon the 21-year-old will go on to become a real star.

It may be several years before the Merseysiders get the best out of the level-headed youngster and he is by no means guaranteed a starting role with Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles, Lucas and the imminent arrival of Charlie Adam all set to mean competition for places will be tough.

But expect Henderson to live up to the hype – even if it takes him a few months to settle at Anfield.

Ashley Young – Aston Villa to Manchester United

Some Villa fans have afforded themselves a wry chuckle that United have paid around £17million for Young, who was often inconsistent last season and overshadowed at times by Stewart Downing at Villa Park.

However, on his day the former Watford man is one of the best wingers around and is only going to improve at 25.

He will have to work on the defensive side of his game and will face competition from Antonio Valencia and Nani at Old Trafford, but Sir Alex Ferguson rarely makes big-money mistakes so the England man will no doubt go on to become a key player for the champions (13/8f – Premier League outright) and should provide the perfect service from out wide for Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and co.

Connor Wickham – Ipswich to Sunderland

There has been hype about the 18-year-old Wickham since he burst onto the scene two years ago with his imposing physical frame and deft touch belying his tender age.

He was a real star at times for Town in the Championship last season, featuring regularly, and he scored eight goals despite often being used out wide by Paul Jewell in the second half of the season.

The price the Black Cats paid – an initial £8m that could rise to £12m with add-ons – is definitely high for someone so young but the fact Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham were all also interested shows how highly rated he is.

However, the step up to the Premier League will be tough for the teenager to begin with and it could take him a year or so before he finds his feet at the Stadium of Light (Sunderland 8/1 to be relegated).

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Of course, with no World Cup or senior European Championships to entertain us over what is apparently going to be a sizzling few months weather-wise in the UK, on the one hand it appears it will be a quiet June and July in the football world.

However, delve a little deeper and there is plenty to keep us interested aside from scurrilous transfer speculation and pointless pre-season tournaments.

The domestic campaign may well be pretty much done and dusted now but we still have the small matter of the Champions League final next weekend between Manchester United and Barcelona at Wembley to come before Reading and Swansea go head-to-head in the Championship play-off final.

Those two games are always among the biggest of the year and totesport will have plenty of markets available ahead of the Wembley showdowns.

Many expect Barca to claim another European Cup (4/9 favourites – Outright) but United are sure to have a game-plan to try and combat Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side and are good value at 13/8 to cause an upset next weekend.

The play-off final two days later looks a difficult one to call with both Reading and Swansea looking in fine fettle in their wins over Nottingham Forest and Cardiff respectively in the semi-finals but we feel the Royals may just edge out the Swans in this one and book a return to the top flight.

While those two games are sure to round off the 2010-11 domestic and European campaigns in style, the focus over the summer then switches to the Under-21 European Championship – in which England are well fancied in – before the Copa America gets underway at the start of July.

The U-21s gather in Denmark between June 11-25 in what is likely to be an entertaining competition featuring plenty of up-and-coming talent from across the continent.

Stuart Pearce is likely to take a host of Premier League players to the tournament, with Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere just two top stars named in his initial squad.

The duo are among six players with senior caps in Pearce’s 40-man selection and, while some will inevitably be pulled out by their clubs when the squad is whittled down to 23, there is still enough talent heading to Scandinavia to mean England have a real chance of lifting the trophy.

Other sides to watch out for in Denmark include all the usual international heavyweights. Spain are the current 7/2 favourites but Germany, who are tipped to shine, represent excellent value at 9/2 while lively outsiders include Portugal at 16/1 and the hosts, who are a huge 66/1 to lift the trophy.

The Copa America, billed as “the most important football event in Latin America” by its official website, features all the top teams from that region.

Argentina, predictably, are the short-priced favourites (6/5) and as hosts will be difficult to beat. Brazil, as ever, will give it a go, though, and at 13/8 look appealing.

Others to consider include a highly-rated Chile outfit (10/1 outright) and World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay who, at 12/1, are the value here – especially if they can repeat their heroics of 12 months ago in South Africa.

So forget about the domestic scene for a few months, enjoy the weather (hopefully) and get stuck into some seriously competitive international action.

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