An analysis of the 2025/26 Premiership openers reveals contrasting fortunes for the Dundee clubs — and how each team’s early schedule could shape their season.
With the fixtures published last Friday, Dundee face the most challenging opening six games of the 2025/26 Premiership season, based on the average league position of their first six opponents from last season (5.33). In contrast, city rivals Dundee United have the easiest run (7.83), offering a smoother start to top-flight football.
Dundee couldn’t have been handed a more challenging test as they look to improve on last season’s 10th-place finish under new manager Steven Pressley, who succeeded Tony Docherty in the summer.
Their daunting schedule begins with Hibernian at Dens Park, followed by a trip to Ibrox to face Rangers. A fiery Dundee derby arrives early, also at home, and is sandwiched between a visit to Kilmarnock and a clash with Motherwell. They round off the run with an away trip to St Mirren — a real test for Pressley’s new era.
On the flip side, the Tangerines kick off with a trip to fellow newly promoted side Falkirk, followed by a home double header against Hearts and Aberdeen. That leads into the eagerly anticipated derby at Dens Park, before an away day at Easter Road to face Hibs and a home tie against Kilmarnock to round out their first six fixtures.
With Dundee facing the toughest start and Dundee United the easiest, our statisticians analysed all 12 SPFL clubs based on the average league position of their first six opponents from last season. Unlike a recent BBC Sport article using Opta’s Power Rankings, this approach is more straightforward — but the takeaway is the same: some clubs face far tougher openings. It’s worth noting this method does not account for home or away advantage, which can also shape early-season momentum.
Aberdeen share the same opening fixture difficulty rating (7.83) as Jim Goodwin’s Dundee United. Despite a testing Matchday 2 meeting with Celtic at Pittodrie, they will likely back themselves for a strong start.
At the other end of the scale, St Mirren and Livingston (6.17) aren’t far behind Dundee regarding fixture difficulty. Livingston, promoted via the play-offs against Ross County and St Mirren, faces challenging opening blocks, with Celtic and Rangers among their first six opponents.
As for the Glasgow giants, Celtic face a trickier start (6.5) than Rangers (7.67). In Edinburgh, Hibs hope to build on last season’s momentum with a relatively favourable opening run (7.17), while city rivals Hearts have a slightly easier stretch (7.68).
Falkirk and Motherwell sit mid-table in terms of difficulty (6.5), with Kilmarnock not far behind on 6.67 — potentially benefiting from a softer start on paper.
As the 2025/26 Premiership kicks off on the weekend of 2nd August, it’s contrasting emotions on either side of Tannadice Street — with Dundee bracing for impact, and United looking to hit the ground running. Across the league, early momentum could be crucial in shaping the season ahead.