The Scottish Premiership season is poised for a dramatic conclusion, with the post-split fixtures confirming a potentially decisive final-day clash between Hearts and Celtic. The SPFL's chief operating officer, Calum Beating, described the campaign as "a season like no other," with just six rounds remaining. Hearts lead the table by one point from Rangers, who are two points clear of Celtic, leaving a three-way title fight in prospect.
The split, introduced in 2000/01, will see the top six clubs play each other over the final five fixtures, while the bottom six do likewise. This allows the 12-team league to complete a 38-game season and is designed to inject drama into the run-in. This year, for the first time since its introduction, the split features an outside challenger, with Hearts aiming for their first league title since 1960 and the first non-Old Firm triumph since Aberdeen in 1985.
Following this weekend's round of matches, where Hearts host Motherwell and Celtic and Rangers face St Mirren and Falkirk, the split will be confirmed. The SPFL has now announced that Hearts will travel to Celtic on the final day of the season, Saturday May 16, in what could be a title decider, while Rangers will visit Falkirk. The decision to avoid a Celtic-Rangers meeting on the final day was influenced by Police Scotland, which determined that a city derby could not take place alongside a potential trophy presentation.
The SPFL acknowledges that the split creates an imperfect fixture list. Falkirk, for instance, will play 20 home games this season while bottom-placed Livingston have only 18. Hearts and Celtic will each host Falkirk three times, while Rangers host them just once. To compensate, the SPFL has used reversals to ensure all clubs play a minimum of two and a maximum of three post-split home games.
Hearts, Rangers and Celtic were always scheduled to play each other twice at home and twice away. The scheduling was further complicated by Motherwell's battle with Hibernian for a European spot, meaning their fixtures could not be reversed. As a result, sixth-placed Falkirk were used to release the gridlock. Celtic, with three home games after the split, will finish at Parkhead, while Hearts and Rangers, with two home games each, are away on the final day. The SPFL prefers the team entering the final weekend to play at home, but the fixture computer has instead produced a mouthwatering conclusion to an unpredictable season.
