Rangers hope 16 May at Celtic Park is not good Hearts omen
Rangers will hope 16 May and Hearts at Celtic Park is not a bad omen as they aim to emerge victorious from this season's three-way battle for the Scottish title. While Danny Rohl's side have been handed a third trip of the season to Falkirk on the final weekend of the Premiership campaign, Derek McInnes' current leaders will head to the east end of Glasgow to face reigning champions Celtic. And it will be 28 years to the day since Hearts beat Rangers 2-1 at the very same Celtic Park to lift the Scottish Cup.
The cup final had been switched from Hampden Park while the national stadium was being renovated, but Rohl will hope his rebuilt side will beat their Edinburgh rivals - and Celtic - to the silverware this time round. This is the second season in a row when there has had to be imbalance in home and away fixtures for one team - this time because Falkirk have claimed an unexpected top-six place. It is the sixth-placed Bairns themselves who the Scottish Professional Football League has decided to hand an extra home game, most likely because they are unlikely to be involved in the race for European qualification places.
That also means they will host Rangers for a third time, with the second coming on Sunday in the final game before the league splits in two for the final five fixtures. Given there are only three points between third-top Celtic and Hearts, who are one ahead of Rangers, there is a good chance the title will not be decided before that final weekend and Falkirk have already proven difficult opponents, drawing both home and away with the Ibrox side. Rangers will be hopeful of taking three points at home to Motherwell, who have slipped out of title contention, in their first game of the post-split fixtures on Sunday, 26 April.
However, it is the next two games that are potentially most crucial, and hazardous, away to both their title rivals - Hearts on Monday, 4 May, then Celtic six days later. It will likely be vital that Rangers at least avoid defeat in both of those before concluding with what are, on paper, their two easiest games - at home to fifth-top Hibernian and then that potentially big day in Falkirk and a first title victory since 2021.