The Scottish Premiership kicks off on 31 July 2026 at Tannadice, where Dundee United host Rangers for the first time on opening weekend since 1987, a 39-year gap that gives the occasion a faint novelty on top of the usual stakes and Dundee United come in off a seventh-place finish in 2025/26 to face a Rangers side widely expected to push for the title after finishing third last season.
Derek McInnes takes charge of his first league match as Rangers manager, having been appointed in June. The former Rangers midfielder from 1995 to 2000 and ex-Hearts manager has made no secret of his ambition to win the Premiership. Jim Goodwin, in post since March 2023 and handed a rolling 12 month extension in September 2025, has overseen promotion and kept United in the top flight since then and the two managers have not met often enough to read much into the head to head.
Dundee United looked sharp in the League Cup, beating lower league opposition convincingly and carrying momentum through the final weeks of last season, while Rangers used pre-season to bed in new signings, including a friendly draw against West Ham, with McInnes focusing on tactical structure and set pieces rather than results.
Dundee United are without Miller Thomson after ankle surgery and are monitoring Dario Naamo with a muscle complaint, though the rest of the squad is fit and Goodwin is expected to name a strong starting eleven. Rangers have minor fitness doubts over Thelo Aasgaard following the West Ham friendly and Cam with a calf problem, though Aasgaard is expected to play. The bigger talking point at Ibrox is the arrival of Lawrence Shankland, Ivor Pandur, Ben Godfrey and Cammy Devlin, all expected to feature, while Vanja Dragojevic may miss out due to visa complications. Rangers are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.
Goodwin's United sit deep, keep shape and hit teams on the counter through fast front runners and that approach suits a match where Rangers will probably have the ball for long periods without finding much joy. McInnes flagged set pieces as a priority during pre-season and Rangers now have the personnel to back it up, with Godfrey's aerial ability and Devlin's delivery giving them a credible threat from dead balls. The midfield battle is where this could be decided: if United's anchors can limit the space Rangers' new signings have to work in, there is a point here for the hosts and Shankland against United's centre backs is the matchup worth watching.
Rangers hold a strong historical record in this fixture, though McInnes will know Tannadice has tended to be a harder venue than those numbers imply and will want his side to start positively rather than feel their way into the game.
Prediction: 1-1. Rangers have the stronger squad on paper and carry more individual quality in attack but Dundee United are well organised at home and have the pace in transition to punish any lapse in concentration. The most likely path to this scoreline is Rangers finding the net through Shankland or one of the new arrivals, only for United to level through a counter or a set piece of their own.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
