Chris Sutton believes Celtic could strike an early advantage in the title race - because of the "burden" Rangers face with Champions League qualifiers.
If the Ibrox club are to join the Scottish champions in the group stages of UEFA's elite competition, then they will need to come through four games over the coming month.
It comes as the domestic season gets underway tomorrow, with the Hoops hosting Ross County and Rangers making the short journey to Kilmarnock.
Michael Beale's side will then face Servette in the third qualifying round of the Champions League next week, with the return leg happening a week later in between another Premiership game against Livingston.
Should the Light Blues take care of Servetter, they will then progress into the play-off round, where they will be 180 minutes away from the groups. They defeated PSV at this stage last year.
Rangers have invested heavily into the first-team squad this summer, backing Beale with £15million as they try to wrestle the title back off of Celtic.
But Sutton believes the crown will be returning to Parkhead under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers.
And he reckons his former club could steal a march over their arch-rivals as they have no other games to contend with in the opening stages of the campaign.
He told Sky Sports: "It's very different for Brendan Rodgers this time around in terms of the team he's taken over, he's taken over a treble-winning team.
"I don't think anybody would argue that Brendan isn't a good appointment and he's come back with a point to prove.
"Is Brendan a good coach? Absolutely. Is he taking over a good team? Yes, albeit he is a player down and the standards of Postecoglou were so high.
"We know Glasgow is unforgiving and there can only be one winner so it's going to be a really interesting season. The most important thing is Celtic start strongly as they don't have the burden of the Champions League qualifiers while Rangers do."
Sutton was speaking as part of his 2023/24 season predictions.
Fellow pundit Kris Boyd also provided his thoughts. Understandably, Sutton plucked for Celtic to finish first, and Boyd went for Rangers.
Boyd said: "Rangers won the last Old Firm game of last season and they need to find a way to start winning these meetings on a regular basis to go and challenge for trophies.
"Rangers have been playing second fiddle to Celtic for a number of years and they need to rectify that quickly as when you're not winning big games and not delivering trophies it can become an issue. The club have backed Michael Beale in the summer and they'll need to deliver.
"The fixtures have been kind to Rangers at the start of the season and it gives them an opportunity. If they can go to win the games up until that Old Firm then you're able to beat Celtic at home, then you never know."
