What’s next in captivating Premiership title race?

April 10, 2026 No Comments

What’s next in captivating Premiership title race?ByGeorge O’NeillBBC Sport ScotlandPublished45 minutes agoLast weekend, Heart of Midlothian were knocked off their Scottish Premiership perch – very briefly – for the first time since late September.Rangers’ 4-2 home victory over Dundee United took them above the Tynecastle outfit on goal difference, before Hearts reclaimed top spot on Sunday with an unconvincing 2-2 draw at Livingston.Celtic then narrowed the gap to the leaders with a 2-1 win at Dundee as this captivating title race tightened up once again.There has still only been one weekend all season in which the top three have all won and, with just one round of fixtures until the split, onlookers can be sure there will be further twists and turns.Hearts host fourth-placed Motherwell on Saturday, at the same time Celtic welcome St Mirren to Glasgow’s east end.Both hosts have the opportunity to put pressure on Rangers, who travel to Falkirk on Sunday.McInnes happy to play Hearts’ title deciders ‘in car park’

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Will Hearts’ home comforts continue?

Graphic showing Hearts' four most recent home league matches

Derek McInnes’ side have stumbled on the road recently, with the draw at Almondvale, a 1-0 reverse at Kilmarnock last month and defeats by Rangers and St Mirren in February.

However, they have kept their noses in front of their better-resourced rivals thanks to a superb record at Tynecastle.

Hearts are yet to lose in the league in front of their own fans and have had four straight 1-0 wins in Edinburgh’s west.

Doubters would point to those narrow margins of victory as evidence they are likely to slip up at some point, while believers would call it the mark of champions.

Another would guarantee their position at the top of the table heading into the final five games of the season.

Their next visitors to Gorgie are Motherwell, who have played some of the most attractive football in Scotland this season but are winless in their past four outings.

The previous two meetings this season both ended in draws – a dramatic 3-3 at Tynecastle in August as Hearts came from three behind, before a more tense 0-0 at Fir Park in November.

Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou stated he was hoping for something closer to the first match in his pre-match media conference.

A repeat would test the nerves of even the most steely Hearts fan.

Who will start up front for inconsistent Celtic?

Scottish Premiership fixtures graphic: Celtic v St Mirren; Hearts v Motherwell; Falkirk v Rangers

Part of Celtic’s relative struggles has been their inability to find a consistent striking option.

Johnny Kenny – loaned to Bolton in January – is still their highest-scoring centre forward this season, with midfielder Benjamin Nygren leading the way.

Daizen Maeda has often been shifted inside off his preferred left flank and has struggled to replicate his form from previous campaigns.

Kelechi Iheanacho was signed on a free by former boss Brendan Rodgers, but has been unable to build up a head of steam because of injuries.

January arrivals Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu have failed to nail down a starting berth – Adamu has been substituted at half-time in both his league starts and has not been in the matchday squad for two of Celtic’s past three league games.

Cvancara was substituted at Dens Park last weekend, having missed a flurry of chances, and his replacement Iheanacho slammed in a dramatic late winner.

Manager Martin O’Neill has spoken more than once about how his team cannot afford many – if any – more slip-ups in their final six league matches, and he could do with some consistency in forward areas to achieve it.

The defending champions might have the easiest fixture of the top three on paper this weekend but St Mirren have won back-to-back games under interim manager Craig McLeish and are battling to avoid the dreaded relegation play-off. The two sides will meet again in next Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

It seems likely O’Neill will start Iheanacho after his impact off the bench against Dundee. How he and his club would love the Nigeria striker to go on a hot streak.

Rangers get final-day practice run

Much of the attention when the post-split fixtures were released was on the tantalising final-day encounter between Celtic and Hearts, with Rangers’ trip to Falkirk often a secondary mention.

However, John McGlynn’s side have not lost against Rangers this season and will provide a stern test both on the final day and this Sunday.

Russell Martin’s final match as Rangers boss came in October as he was escorted out of the Falkirk Stadium amid considerable fan anger following a 1-1 draw.

And, under new head coach Danny Rohl, Rangers again failed to beat the Bairns in November as the visitors ground out a goalless draw at Ibrox.

Should Hearts and Celtic do the business on Saturday, the pressure would ramp up on Rohl’s side. Top of the table last Saturday night, they could be third come kick-off on Sunday.

And the previous two Sundays of Premiership action have brought shocks.

Dundee United beat Celtic 2-0 before the international break, while, as mentioned, Hearts dropped points at Livingston last time out.

Will Rangers buck that trend or will Falkirk throw a spanner in their title charge for a third time this season?

Related topics

Scottish Premiership
Celtic
Rangers
Scottish Football
Heart of Midlothian
Football

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