SWPL 2025/26 predictions: Winner, runner-up & relegated
Prediction: 4th
GLASGOW CITY
There has been no silverware at Petershill for back-to-back seasons, a scenario that will have hurt Glasgow City given the dominance with which they lorded it over the rest for so long. Leanne Ross has lost her assistant manager to Rangers with the move coming late in the day as the Ibrox side made their move for Leanne Crichton who switched to Ibrox with less than a fortnight to go before the new campaign.
Jo Love, Brenna Lovera, Aleigh Gambone, Claire Walsh, Mairead Fulton and Sam van Diemen have left the club this summer. Lovera had an excellent campaign with her goals a substantial loss while van Diemen was also impressive; she will be shoring up Roma's defence this season.
Abi Harrsion, Erin McLaughlin, Lana Golob and Emma Brownlie have been added.
Like Hibs, City have a Champions League qualifying mini-tournament to play at the end of this month and will be keen that it does not impact their domestic performances.
The suspicion is that it will be fraught at the top – and could be goal difference to settled again – but it will be interesting to see if City can reclaim a title they seemed to own for so long.
Prediction: 1st
CELTIC
Any insight into how Elena Sadiku felt about the club's fourth place finish last season would have been seen in the ten players – all first-team level – who were released from the club this summer. So far replacements have been slow to arrive albeit that Sadiku has said she expects to be in a far more comfortable place when the window closes.
The Swede was reluctant to make any bold pronouncements about winning titles or silverware this season but has insisted that there has to be an improvement on last year's trophyless campaign.
Last season the Parkhead side toiled against their title rivals – they beat City once at the start of the campaign and never got the better of Rangers in any competition – raising question marks about their psychology around the bigger games.
Do Celtic have the players to go and claim a title they won for the first time in 2024? Time will tell.
Prediction: 3rd
RANGERS
Leanne Crichton is well aware that she is in position at Rangers to deliver a title that slipped out of Jo Potter's grasp twice at the very last hurdle. The Ibrox side have enjoyed success in both domestic Cups but the title has eluded them since they won it under Malky Thomson.
There have been accusations around the mentality of the squad as they have failed to get over the line despite having the best resourced squad in the league in recent campaigns.
Crichton has had little time to prepare for the season ahead and missed out on Rangers' pre-season trip to Italy as Rangers and Glasgow City thrashed out a compensation agreement.
The squad itself has undergone changes – six players have gone – with Rio Hardy and Kirsty Maclean the notable departures.
Still, Rangers have a strong squad with Katie Wilkinson's goals always significant.
Prediction: 2nd
HEARTS
Eva Olid has improved Hearts year on year since taking over at the club. Her side have made for awkward opponents for all of the top teams and while they may not have the depth to go all the way in the title race they can definitely have a say in who claims the Championship.
They host Celtic tomorrow afternoon as the season gets underway and will be keen to be as problematic to Sadiku's team as they have been in recent displays.
Olid may well fancy too that this season a kind cup run will book a Hampden date.
Prediction: 5th
ABERDEEN
Scott Booth will be keen to make his mark with Aberdeen as he prepares for a full season at the club. Having made the move back North in October last year, there was a sense of frustration that results did not match his ambitions for the club.
There remains an issue with resources – the club are semi-professional rather than professional – with the chasm clear between the top end of the table and the rest. Booth's challenge is to bridge that gap.
Prediction: 6th
MOTHERWELL
Paul Brownlie had an impressive campaign last year as he took Motherwell into a top six position. The Fir Park side have punched above their weight at times with Brownlie laying solid foundations at the club.
Prediction: 7th
PARTICK THISTLE
Last season proved to be a bridge too far for Thistle last season after the heights they had reached in previous campaign under Brian Graham.
The striker has stepped back from the women's game after labouring under an intense workload in recent seasons while Tiree Burchill has made the move to champions Hibs while Cara Henderson will miss the season following ACL surgery.
Prediction: 8th
HAMILTON ACCIES
Robert Watson has brought Accies back into the top flight but has had a nightmare summer with legal wranglings off the park overseeing preparations for the new campaign.
He has recruited some experience SWPL players and loans but the remit will all be about staying in the league.
Prediction: 9th
MONTROSE
Montrose kick off their campaign by hosting Rangers this afternoon with the likelihood being that the season doesn't get any easier the longer it goes on.
Prediction: 10th
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Scotsman
13 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Russell Martin confirms imminent Rangers exit and reveals replacement already identified
Rangers boss blunt on Igamane's hopes of starting v Brugge Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rangers manager Russell Martin has confirmed Brazilian full-back Jefte is on the brink of leaving the club and a replacement in the form of 19-year-old Brentford defender Jayden Meghoma has already been identified. Martin was speaking after his side had overcome League One side Alloa Athletic 4-2 to seal a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final clash against Livingston or Hibs. It was more of a struggle than he would have liked, with Alloa equalising after 24 minutes through a Joe Rothwell own goal and then causing some anxiety late in the game with a second goal, from veteran former Hibs player Scott Taggart, to make it 3-2. Rangers substitute Findlay Curtis sealed matters with a fourth in time added on. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Martin now has his eyes set on Tuesday's Champions League play-off first leg against Club Brugge although he knows he won't have Jefe among his personnel options with the left-back set to join Palmeiras in his homeland. Meghoma is set to join on loan. Rangers head coach Russell Martin applauds the fans at full time after the 4-2 win over Alloa in the Premier Sports Cup. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'Jefte was in yesterday and then by yesterday evening he is maybe not going to be here moving forward,' said Martin, with reference to the fast-moving transfer deal, reported to be worth as much as £6 million. 'It's a good deal for him and the club, so we will see what happens with that. We had to be ready to replace him, we always have been. Jayden is a player we know. He spent a year with us (at Southampton) as a young boy, training every day. He understands what it takes to be a top talent. Played for England at all the youth levels and then Brentford signed him for a lot of money (£5m) as a teenager. He went on loan to the Championship (at Preston North End) and did really well. So he is a player we know and like and hopefully at some point he will be a Rangers player and you will know that when he is.' Asked whether those fringe players who had come into the starting XI v Alloa, with Martin making ten changes, had done enough to force their way into the picture against Club Brugge, he was unsure. 'Some of them did some really good stuff - Manny (Fernandez) did some really good stuff,' he said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Obviously he scored but there are some moments we really need to work on with him, you can see all the attributes he has and the potential. Joe Rothwell in short spurts today was much more positive with the ball than he was in midweek. There's loads to come from this group. Some have taken an opportunity, some will be frustrated and will want to do a bit more.'
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Rangers 4 Alloa 2: There's no case for the defence as hosts stumble into next round of Premier Sports Cup
There was warm applause around Ibrox at the end. No drama. No catcalls. But, my goodness, only the most myopic of Rangers supporters could have failed to see the red flags raised by this almighty struggle of a victory. Particularly with regard to the defence. Considering League One Alloa could barely get up the pitch in the initial stages, it is quite remarkable that this Premier Sports Cup last-16 tie was only settled right at the death when home substitute Findlay Curtis served up an excellent finish to make it 4-2. Not as remarkable, though, as the goals the home rearguard in a much-changed side gave away to keep it so competitive. Flamin' Nora. To say that Russell Martin's men continue to look wobbly at the back is a cataclysmic understatement. Right now, you could put them out against 11 training-ground dummies and the chances are they'd still find a way to concede. One-up through Nedim Bajrami, the concession of an equaliser through a Joe Rothwell own goal midway through the first half was just bonkers. A calamity of errors verging on straight-out slapstick. After an effort from Manny Fernandez and a James Tavernier penalty had created a false sense of security among the home support, the Scott Taggart goal that made it 3-2 was just so easily conceded. More fuel to the argument that defending against set-pieces is a real Achilles heel within this team. It was like taking candy off a baby. So, yes, Rangers are through. They got the job done in the end, but it wasn't pretty. As for anyone forcing their way into the starting XI for Tuesday night's Champions League play-off first leg with Club Brugge? Hmmm, don't bet on it. Nasser Djiga was the only survivor of the midweek visit to Viktoria Plzen, but no one really stood out. Mikey Moore made his debut on the left wing and showed some nice touches in the first half, in particular, before going off. Rothwell returned to midfield and was okay. Bajrami played a big part in the destination of the game, in the end, but only a brave man would bet on him taking a starting jersey in the big matches. Thelo Aasgaard also made his first appearance after injury and delivered one strong run that required a save from visiting keeper Liam McFarlane. With Hamza Igamane not fit enough to begin games, Rangers certainly had better hope Cyriel Dessers is back fit because you cannot possibly continue with Danilo. He was anonymous here, hasn't scored a goal in competitive action and doesn't look like scoring one. As for who plays at left-back, it certainly won't be Bailey Rice, who had a torrid time out of position. Jayden Meghoma is close to signing on loan from Brentford, but, with Jefte off to Palmeiras and Ridvan Yilmaz tipped for a return to Turkey, more competition in that area of the park will surely be required. Rangers did have the lion's share of the ball against Alloa, as you'd expect. There wasn't enough consistent aggression in their play, though. At times, it felt like they were trying to bore their opponents to death instead of blowing them away. Moore, in fairness, showed up well from the off. Within 10 minutes, he'd had three goes at goal of varying quality and played a part in setting Bajrami up for the opener. Rothwell played a forward pass from midfield, Bajrami nudged it out to Moore on the wing and he fed it back inside to the Albanian. His curling effort from outside the area was destined to hit the net all the way — eventually finishing up there off the underside of the crossbar. At that point, Alloa had barely been able to get the ball out of their own half. Then, they realised that just launching the ball and putting some remote element of pressure on this Rangers backlot is likely to bear fruit. On 24 minutes, after Steven Buchanan had tested Liam Kelly, the visitors made it 1-1 thanks to the kind of defending that could only have been made more comical had the Benny Hill theme tune been playing over the tannoy. Buchanan skinned Rice and made it to the byeline. His low shot cracked off Kelly, rebounded off his leg and fell to Luke Rankin. His shot was then blocked by the arm of Rothwell on its way to goal, but it didn't matter. There was more chaos to come. Stefan Scougall scuffed an effort goalward, Max Aarons attempted to boot it clear and succeeded only in whacking it straight off the nut of the grounded Rothwell — seeing it shoot back in the other direction and cross the goal-line. Madness, really. Thankfully for Martin, Fernandez, making his competitive debut, got Rangers back in front — and prevented the atmosphere from descending into something uncomfortable — before the half-hour. Oscar Cortes didn't do much during the game, in keeping with the rest of his Ibrox career. However, he did win a free-kick out on the right and that paved the way for Rothwell to send a quite delicious delivery into the heart of the area. Fernandez seized his moment well — with an unchallenged header from inside the area beating McFarlane all ends-up. That's when it should have become a procession, but it didn't. Kurtis Roberts tested Kelly with an ambitious effort from about 40 yards after another defensive mix-up and, after being skinned one time too many, Rice came off for Tavernier at the end of the opening 45. The goal that offered Rangers welcome breathing space after a decent start to the second period finally came via the penalty spot on 67 minutes. McFarlane parried a shot from Bajrami into the path of Cortes and it looked like the Colombian would score until Alloa substitute Cameron O'Donnell appeared from nowhere to block. It was as clear as day the ball had struck his hand, with the only surprise being that it took so long for the VAR check that led to referee Daniel McFarlane going to the pitchside monitor and giving the award. Tavernier stepped up to smash the penalty low and hard off the inside of keeper McFarlane's right hand post and that should have been that. Only it wasn't. After seeing Conor Sammon caught by Fernandez when clean through on goal after an intercepted pass from Djiga, that old problem of being unable to deal with set-pieces made for an interesting last 10 minutes. O'Donnell fired in a free-kick from the right, David Devine rose high at the back post and, when his header came off the underside of the crossbar, Taggart was waiting on the goal-line to stick it into the net. It took Curtis, not long on for Cortes, to settle the nerves seconds from the end of the regulation 90 when taking a pass from Kieran Dowell on the right of the area and placing it first-time into the net off the far post.
Scotsman
42 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Underwhelming Rangers survive Alloa scare as comedy concession set to keep Ibrox analysts busy
Part-timers take the plaudits as Rangers progress to quarter-finals Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... His predecessor never recovered after being bitten by The Spiders, so Russell Martin was right to be wary of being stung by some Wasps in mid-August. Alloa Athletic proved anything but drowsy but Rangers overcame the visitors on an evening when six goals were scored, which isn't of course a stunning bulletin of news. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, that Alloa scored two of them, and Rangers' fourth didn't come until time added on, was why it was a case of 'colour me underwhelmed' for the home fans at Ibrox. Not so the Alloa supporters, of course, who quite rightly hailed their side after the final whistle. Rangers' Emmanuel Fernandez celebrates after scoring to make it 2-1 over Alloa Athletic at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group While it wasn't quite a case of Rangers running the ball into the corners near the end, veteran Steven Taggart's tap-in with ten minutes left, after David Devine won a far post header, left Alloa just a goal away from forcing extra time and made things interesting again. Seven days after two dropped home points against Dundee, the grumbles were heard once more around Ibrox. Substitute Findlay Curtis' late goal sealed victory for Rangers and secured a last eight home tie against Livingston or Hibs. It meant Kieran Dowell, who played all 90 minutes here, could claim an assist following the unpleasant reaction to his appearance as a substitute against Dundee. He broke from midfield to set up Curtis, who finished with an angled shot off the far post. While Dowell will feel satisfied with his evening's work, others might not feel the same about their contributions. Danilo was replaced after 68 minutes by the much more impressive Hamza Igamane having barely troubled opposition 'keeper Liam McFarlane, which isn't ideal for a Rangers centre forward at home against Alloa. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rangers substitute Findlay Curtis scores in the dying stages to make it 4-2 over Alloa Athletic and seal a place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group The visitors have a surprisingly good record against Rangers. They had drawn five of their last nine meetings before kick-off here while recording a win in 2012 in Ally McCoist's penultimate game as Ibrox manager. Quite what defeat would have meant for Martin we will never know, but Philippe Clement's tenure all but ended with a 1-0 home loss to Queen's Park - the aforementioned Spiders - in the Scottish Cup in February. No one wanted to be implicated in another such humiliation, particularly those involved the last time. Of the starting XI, three players had this cross to bear – Liam Kelly, who replaced Jack Butland, Nedim Bajrami, who scored the opener, and Bailey Rice. The last-named youngster was replaced at half time against Queen's Park. He didn't even make it that far on this occasion having picked up an injury. A talented prospect, he was beaten too easily by Steven Buchanan for Alloa's equaliser – indeed, the Alloa midfielder went past him like he wasn't there. It was a key moment in the build-up to the goal but so much else happened before the ball landed in the net that it ought to keep Martin's team of analysts busy until the end of next week. They do have a Champions League play-off first leg against Club Brugge to prepare for as well, hence the number of changes Martin made. The manager viewed it as a chance for others to make a claim to play. Maybe only Bajrami, at a pinch, took it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alloa players celebrate as Rangers midfielder Joe Rothwell scores a comedic own goal. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group It was interesting to finally see on-loan Spurs winger Mikey Moore make his Rangers debut after turning 18 in midweek. He provided the assist for Bajrami to put Rangers in front after 14 minutes. It was a fairly straightforward lay-off to his right in truth. Bajrami took a touch to set himself up and then curled a shot towards the far corner that went in off the bar. Any notion Rangers were now up and running was quickly trashed by Alloa scoring one of the most comedic goals ever scored in the famous stadium. Jack Rothwell put through his own net although he knew precious little about it since he was flat out on the turf at the time as Max Aarons booted the ball against his head while clearing off his line. Rothwell had moments earlier stopped Luke Rankin's shot with his head, which was why he was lying on the ground in the first place.
