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Three clubs. A trophy. And a title race that refuses to follow the old script.
The dynamic changes, the pressure mounts and each match now carries the weight of a season – especially this Saturday.
Celtic v Rangers at Celtic Park, live on Sky Sports. An Old Firm clash that will have huge ramifications for this three-way title battle.
Saturday January 3 11:30 a.m.
Kick-off at 12:30 p.m.
Hearts’ fearless challenge from outside the Old Firm created a danger-rich, excitement-filled showdown that you can’t take your eyes off. Are they about to end 40 years of Celtic and Rangers dominance in the top flight?
As the campaign reaches a season-defining juncture, it is Hearts who sit top of the table – leading with 41 points – while Celtic and Rangers fumble somewhat behind but will continue fiercely until the final kick.
Celtic, with 38 points, are driven as much by expectations as by ambition. Rangers, three points back on 35, know better than anyone how quickly momentum can change in this league. They are what constitute the fit horse.
Since the appointment of Danny Röhl, Rangers have collected more points than anyone else in their 11 league matches, accumulating eight wins, two draws and just one defeat against Hearts.
Seasons can be defined by moments – and for Rangers, Saturday’s derby could be one of them. After months of turmoil, transition and search for consistency, the opportunity to reset the title picture suddenly appears before them.
Victory over Celtic wouldn’t just be about bragging rights or momentum, it would catapult Rangers firmly into the title race.
Rangers on a Röhl
Next five league matches:
Celtic (a) – January 3 – live on Sky Sports
Aberdeen (h) – January 6 – live on Sky Sports
Aberdeen (a) – January 11 – live on Sky Sports
Dundee (h) – January 25
Hibernian (a) – February 1
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After their win over St Mirren, Danny Röhl spoke about his side being involved in a title race and facing Celtic next.
“Rangers are out of action, they are done and can forget about it, 12 points is too much to recover.”
For Kris Boyd, his former team’s title hopes ended after their 2-1 defeat to Hearts on December 21. However, just two games later, after taking six points from six and Hearts and Celtic slipping up, the picture is looking much rosier.
Rangers’ rebirth under Röhl is not noisy. It’s not flashy. But it is more and more effective.
Rangers are the club with the most points since Danny Röhl took charge at Ibrox.
After a turbulent period under Russell Martin, where control often came at the expense of defensive security, Rangers are now winning games by becoming harder to beat. The chaos has been alleviated. Risks have been managed. And above all, the goals against column has tightened considerably. Just seven goals scored in 11 games tells its own story.
Under Röhl, Rangers concede a lot less – not by accident, but by design. Where Martin’s side showed vulnerability in transition, Röhl’s Rangers look organized, patient and much more selective about when they commit numbers.
Rangers may not be the finished article yet, but they are building a platform that works well in a title race: defensive resilience, game management and the ability to punish opponents in decisive moments.
Celtic falter but remain favorites for the title – why?
Next five league matches:
Rangers (h) – January 3 – live on Sky Sports
Dundee Utd (h) – January 10
Falkirk (a) – January 14
Hearts (a) – January 25 – live on Sky Sports
Falkirk (m) – February 1
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Despite the defeat at Motherwell, Wilfried Nancy insisted he can still turn his Celtic tenure around.
Logic suggests the Scottish Premiership title race has shifted away from Celtic. The form line certainly does that. Five defeats in six league matches under Wilfried Nancy. A three-point gap with leader Hearts. More questions than answers as winter bites. And yet, when we look at the bookmakers’ prices on the title race, one thing does not change: Celtic remain favorites with Sky Bet.
Whether this turns out to be true or false at the end of the season, only time will tell. But bookmakers don’t value emotion. They evaluate the probability. And in this title race, the odds still lean heavily in Celtic’s favor – even amid the turmoil.
Bookmakers are banking on institutional memory to the extent that it is a club that knows how to win a title when the pressure is on. And above all, the underlying data is also reassuring.
Celtic play a much higher defensive line under Wilfried Nancy, with the more advanced full-backs, and on average only leave one central defender in their half.
Despite defeats under Nancy, Celtic still control matches and the creation of chances has not collapsed – the conversion has collapsed. Additionally, defensive lapses were costly. Over these seven matches, Celtic’s expected goals supremacy per 90 – a metric that calculates expected goals minus expected goals against – is at a very impressive +1.38.
To put this figure into context, Hearts’ xG supremacy is +0.28 over their last seven games and Rangers’ is +0.76.
Celtic don’t look like champions at the moment. This is clear. But the advantage is still there for Nancy based on these performance measures.
Hearts always lead the way: catch us if you can
Next five league matches:
Livingston (m) – January 3
Dundee (a) – January 11 – live on Sky Sports
St Mirren (m) – January 14
Celtic (h) – January 25 – live on Sky Sports
Dundee United (a) – January 31 – live on Sky Sports
Derek McInnes’ Hearts are the first non-Old Firm team to dominate Scottish football in the New Year since the 1993/94 season.
When Tony Bloom became involved with Hearts, his prediction was to win the title within 10 years. He is poised to deliver on this improbable promise well ahead of schedule. It only took one transfer window for his Jamestown Analytics model to work its magic.
Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga were not asked to make statements or make noise. They had to solve problems. And in doing so, Hearts may have revealed just how far behind Scottish football still is when it comes to recruitment. Cores have targeted skills, not resumes. They looked at their system needs and went shopping in markets that others ignored.
Between them, Braga (12) and Kyziridis (9) have scored 21 goals this season, while teammate Lawrence Shankland has scored nine goals and created two assists.
Braga (left) and Shankland have 18 league goals between them for Hearts this season
Hearts, who are the league’s top scorers with 38 goals scored, will need Braga, Kyziridis and Shankland to keep fighting until 2026. Defeats to Aberdeen and Hibernian opened the door to the chasers, but a record four wins in four games this season against the Old Firm has kept Hearts at arm’s length.
Holding Old Firm back for an entire season, however, is a unique challenge. In a race where the pressure increases week by week, Hearts’ ability to continue to find the net can be the difference between daring to dream and achieving something truly historic.
