Scottish Premiership title race: All the permutations for Hearts, Celtic and Rangers

The Scottish Premiership title race is about to enter its final act with Hearts, Celtic and Rangers all vying for the crown.

A titanic three-way tussle for the trophy continues into the post-split fixtures, with just five games remaining for each team to stay in the hunt.

Hearts, who haven’t won a title since 1960, have led the pack for most of the season and are closing in on history under Derek McInnes.

Rangers, resurgent under Danny Rohl after a disastrous start to the season with Russell Martin, have closed the gap to just one point.

Celtic, current champions in a season of struggles on and off the pitch, must try to cling to their crown by staying in the race.

In an unprecedented season, three teams stand ready to bring to a finale one of the most enthralling stories in recent memory in Scottish football.

Hearts

The title is in Hearts’ hands should they win their final five matches – including hosting Rangers at Tynecastle and travelling to Celtic Park on the final day.

That would take the Jambos to 85 points – the lowest league winning tally across 38 games since the 2017/18 season (excluding the 2019/20 season, which was curtailed after 30 games due to the pandemic).

The Jambos’ impressive season is perhaps personified by the fact they remain undefeated at home all campaign.

Yet five losses and three draws on the road represent the lowest points-per-away-game average of all three teams.

However, McInnes’ hard-to-beat side has also won 11 games in the campaign by a one-goal margin.

Rangers

The Ibrox side are the form team in this title race, having taken 37 points from the last 15 games.

In that period, rivals Hearts and Celtic have taken 29 points.

And Rangers are not short of action in the goals department, with a six-goal revival at Falkirk stamping their authority on a strong +35 goal difference.

Danny Rohl’s men have put four goals or more past Aberdeen, Dundee United and Kilmarnock, as well as Falkirk last weekend and Hearts since the turn of the year.

Like Hearts, Rangers will be champions if they win their last five, which would see them finish on 84 points.

Celtic

Celtic have lost eight league games this season and no side has ever won the crown with that many losses.

Three, or technically four, managerial stints later, and O’Neill has a task arguably bigger than any he faced in his trophy-laden first spell at Parkhead.

Yet in the last ten games, Celtic have the same amount of points as Rangers on 22, but have scored 11 fewer goals.

The Hoops have not beaten Hearts or Rangers in the league this season and may need to feasibly beat both to win the title. They play both their rivals at home in the split.

O’Neill’s side have also dropped points to fellow top six teams Motherwell and Hibs, but are unbeaten against Falkirk this season.

Games that have defined the season…so far

Dundee United 2-0 Celtic (December 17)

Celtic’s second visit of the season to the City of Discovery could hardly have gone worse than the 2-0 defeat to Dundee in October that ended Brendan Rodgers’ tenure at the club.

Step up Wilfried Nancy, who would eventually last just 33 days in post at Celtic Park, and his side to lose again, this time to United.

That defeat had followed a loss to Hearts the week prior, a 3-1 win for McInnes and co proving to be another definitive moment in the title race.

Hearts 2-2 Celtic (January 25)

As powder-keg clashes go, this one did not fail to deliver.

Four goals, VAR controversy and a late equaliser from Claudio Braga capped off an action-packed afternoon.

Hearts showed they were not willing to go down easily and still to this day remain unbeaten against the Hoops this season.

Hearts 1-0 Hibs (February 10)

The first Edinburgh derby of the season marked only the second time the Jambos tasted defeat by that point in the campaign in a five-goal thriller at Easter Road.

They have only gone on to lose three more times since, and dealt some revenge on their city rivals in the reverse fixture in February.

It was the late show at Tynecastle with a single goal from Magnusson sealing a massive three points.

Rangers 4-2 Hearts (February 15)

Rangers’ first home defeat under doomed boss Russell Martin had come at the hands of Hearts in August, but there was no love lost in this post-Valentine’s Day clash at Ibrox.

The Ibrox side stamped their authority on the visitors with a Youssef Chermiti hat-trick and had those in light blue believing a title challenge was very much on.

Kilmarnock 2-3 Celtic (February 15)

Celtic’s powers of recovery have been nothing short of a guarantee in recent title-winning seasons.

And from the depths of despair at 2-0 down in East Ayrshire, a last-gasp Julian Araujo winner sealed a crucial victory in Martin O’Neill’s 300th game in charge of the club.

It wouldn’t, however, prove to be the start of a run of form with the Hoops losing to Hibs the following week and salvaging a draw at Ibrox two weeks later.

Falkirk 3-6 Rangers (April 12)

The Rangers dressing room was bound to be nervy last weekend at 2-1 down at half time in Falkirk, having watched Celtic and Hearts win the previous day.

But a five-goal blast from the visitors in the second period, thanks to attacking prowess from Chermiti and Bojan Miovski, made sure the Gers remain part of the conversation in the final game before the split.

Could the league be decided on the final day?

It could be argued that the scenario of this unprecedented league season being decided on the final day is looking increasingly likely.

With just three points separating the title-chasing trio, the trophy could be heading for a dramatic ‘Helicopter Sunday’, or in this case, Saturday finish.

In 2005, Rangers clinched the league title on a final day filled with drama as Celtic fell to defeat at Motherwell despite being two points ahead going into the last game.

In 1986, the last time Hearts came this close to a title triumph, they lost the league on the final day to Dundee after a run of 27 games unbeaten.

It was Celtic who put five goals past St Mirren to tie the Jambos on points, but had a superior goal difference come the final whistle.

Hearts will be hoping there’s no repeat of that heartache almost 40 years on.