Dundee travel to Celtic Park for their 2026/27 Scottish Premiership opener as they look to upset the current title-holders Celtic.
We’ve teamed up with Andy’s Bet Club for the new season, where their experts will provide a weekly statistical preview, digging into the numbers behind both teams’ performances.
We start this week by looking back at last season for both clubs, as well as their pre-season campaigns and summer transfer business.
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Last Season
Dundee
Dundee silenced the doubters last season as many had them as favourites for relegation from the Scottish Premiership.
However, Steven Pressley’s side were never in any real danger of dropping into the Championship, as they comfortably kept their heads above water to secure an 8th-place finish.
In the cups, Dundee exited the Scottish League Cup in the group stage, before an improved showing to reach the Scottish Cup’s Last 16 stage ending in defeat to Celtic.
Celtic
Despite trailing Hearts for much of the season, Celtic clinched a fifth successive Scottish Premiership crown by defeating their title rivals 3-1 on the final day of the campaign.
Martin O’Neill’s men completed the domestic double one week later by defeating Dunfermline 3-1 to lift the Scottish Cup.
The only trophy to elude the Hoops last season was the Scottish League Cup, with Celtic suffering a 3-1 defeat to St Mirren in the final during Wilfried Nancy’s brief spell in charge.
On the European front, Celtic reached the Europa League play-off round before bowing out to Stuttgart.
Pre-Season
Dundee
Steven Pressley’s men began their pre-season schedule with a 2-0 defeat to Livingston, before travelling to Hungary for a training camp, where they defeated Paksi FC 2-1. Dundee then returned home and drew 1-1 with Brechin.
The Dark Blues have since secured qualification to the knockout round of the Scottish League Cup, with three wins and a draw from four group stage matches. Between those competitive fixtures, Dundee were beaten 4-0 by Everton in a friendly.
Celtic
Celtic had a couple of overseas trips during their pre-season schedule, beginning with a visit to Dublin to face Shelbourne in a game that finished 1-1.
Celtic then headed to Portugal for a training camp, where they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon before returning home for friendly fixtures against Middlesbrough and AC Milan.
Both games ended in draws, with Celtic playing out a 1-1 draw against the English Championship side, before throwing away a two-goal lead to share the spoils in a 2-2 stalemate with the Italian giants.
Transfer Business
Dundee
Luke Graham was sold to Stoke City earlier this summer with Billy Koumetio making the move to Charlton Athletic, while Cameron Congreve and Tony Yogane headed back to their parent clubs.
Alan Forrest from Hearts has bolstered the squad, along with the additions of Zan Besir, Idris Odutayo, Ryan Finnigan, Owen Bevan and Owen Goodman, with the latter four arriving from English football.
Celtic
Celtic have made a couple of statement additions to their squad, with Camilo Duran arriving from Qarabag before Celtic reportedly broke their transfer record to bring in Kasper Hogh from Bodo/Glimt. Both forwards are in contention to make their debuts against Dundee.
Talismanic forward Daizen Maeda has departed for Ipswich Town. While Kelechi Iheanacho and Kasper Schmeichel have also left Parkhead.
Team News
Dundee
Dundee have a couple of players in the treatment room, with Callum Jones and Imari Samuels both set to miss out on Monday night.
Celtic
Celtic will be unable to call upon the services of defender Liam Scales, with the centre-back suspended for the opening two matches of the campaign due to an accumulation of bookings at the tail end of last season. Long-term absentee Jota will also miss out, while there are doubts surrounding Benjamin Nygren, who sat out last week’s draw with AC Milan.
Martin O’Neill is expected to stick with the 4-3-3 formation that served him so well last season, although he has hinted that he could be open to pairing new striking duo Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh together in attack.
Head-to-Head
Dundee have beaten Celtic 53 times down the years, drawing 56 and losing the other 190 of the 299 competitive meetings between the sides.
Dundee shocked Celtic with a 2-0 victory at Dens Park last season, a first home win over them since 1988. Dundee also came within a whisker of eliminating Celtic from the Scottish Cup last term, conceding a 97th-minute equaliser before eventually losing in extra time.
It’s also worth noting that the two sides played out a pulsating 3-3 draw at Dens Park two seasons ago.
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