Scottish Premiership title race: Rangers on a Röhl and Celtic ‘favourites’ – but Opta back Hearts to stay top | Football News

Three clubs. One trophy. And a title race that is refusing to follow the old script.

Hearts’ fearless challenge from outside the Old Firm has created a run-in rich with jeopardy and one showered with excitement that you cannot take your eyes off. Are they on their way to ending Celtic and Rangers’ 40-year top-flight dominance?

The Jambos fought back to take a point against Celtic on Sunday, maintaining their unbeaten home run while ending Martin O’Neill’s winning record as Hoops boss this season.

Meanwhile, Danny Röhl’s Rangers have reignited their title chase and are back up to second after Sunday’s 3-0 win at home to Dundee.

Opta predict pre-split table-toppers

There are just 10 games until the Premiership split, when the table breaks into a top six and bottom six. That will set up five massive games that will determine the destination of this season’s title.

Celtic remain the bookies’ favourites despite being unable to beat Hearts or Rangers in the league this season.

But Opta’s super-computer suggests something different.

They believe Derek McInnes’ side will be leading the way come April 11, after matchday 33, with Röhl’s Rangers in second and the Hoops behind in third.

Hearts are currently on 51 points after 15 wins and six draws from 23 matches.

Following their horror start under Russell Martin, Rangers are now just four behind and know better than most how quickly momentum can swing in this league. It is them who are the form horse – having picked up the most points in the league since Röhl’s appointment.

Meanwhile, Celtic are on 45 points, driven by expectation as much as ambition. After weeks of turbulence, transition and defeats under Wilfried Nancy, they have catapulted themselves back into the title picture following O’Neill’s return.

Strap yourself in for plenty more twists and turns…

Hearts still lead the way: Catch us if you can

Next five league fixtures:
Dundee United (a) – Jan 31 – live on Sky Sports
St Mirren (a) – Feb 3 – live on Sky Sports
Hibernian (h) – Feb 10
Rangers (a) – Feb 15 – live on Sky Sports
Falkirk (h) – Feb 21

When Tony Bloom became involved with Hearts, his prediction was to win the title within 10 years. He is on the verge of delivering that unlikely promise well ahead of schedule. It has taken just one full transfer window for his Jamestown Analytics model to work its magic.

Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga were not brought in to make statements or create noise. They were brought in to solve problems. And in doing so, Hearts may have exposed how far behind the curve much of Scottish football still is when it comes to recruitment. Hearts have targeted skillsets, not CVs. They have looked at what their system needs and gone shopping in markets others ignore.

Between them, Braga (14) and Kyziridis (9) have been responsible for 23 goal involvements this season, while team-mate Lawrence Shankland – who stayed at the club after the expiry of his deal in the summer – has scored 11 goals and provided three assists.

Hearts, who are the league’s top goalscorers with 44 goals bagged, will be hoping to avoid any further injuries with top-scorer Shankland and influential midfielder Cammy Devlin already sidelined.

McInnes’ side have responded to their Edinburgh derby defeat at Hibernian by taking 10 points from their following four games to keep Celtic and Rangers at arm’s length.

Holding off the Old Firm over an entire season, though, is a unique challenge. In a race where pressure grows by the week, Hearts’ ability to keep finding the net may be the difference between daring to dream – and delivering something truly historic.

Rangers on a Röhl

Next five league fixtures:
Hibernian (a) – Feb 1
Kilmarnock (h) – Feb 4
Motherwell (a) – Feb 11 – live on Sky Sports
Hearts (h) – Feb 15 – live on Sky Sports
Livingston (a) – Feb 22 – live on Sky Sports

“Rangers are quietly going about their business. I’m not going to jinx it.”

Just weeks after insisting Rangers were out of the title race, Kris Boyd has had a change of heart.

For him, his former team’s title hopes ended after their 2-1 defeat to Hearts on December 21. But having now taken 18 points from 18, including a win at Celtic Park, the picture is looking far rosier.

Rangers’ revival under Röhl isn’t loud. It isn’t flashy. But it is increasingly effective.

After a turbulent spell under Martin, where possession football often came at the expense of defensive security and goals, Rangers are now winning games by becoming harder to beat.

The chaos has been dialled down. The risks have been managed. And crucially, the goals against column has tightened dramatically. Just 17 goals shipped in 23 games tells its own story.

Under the German, Rangers concede far less, are more clinical from set-pieces and Röhl is not afraid of changing shape if Plan A is not working.

The best example of that was at half-time against Celtic, with his side 1-0 down, Röhl tweaked the shape and 26 minutes later his side were 3-1 up at the home of their fiercest rivals.

It should be no surprise they have the most points of any team in the period since he took charge.

Rangers may not yet be the finished article, but they are building a platform that travels well in a title race: defensive resilience, game management and the ability to punish opponents in decisive moments.

Struggling Celtic are still title favourites – why?

Next five league fixtures:
Falkirk (h) – Feb 1
Aberdeen (a) – Feb 4 – live on Sky Sports
Livingston (h) – Feb 11
Kilmarnock (a) – Feb 15, live on Sky Sports
Hibernian (h) – Feb 21

Logic suggests the Scottish Premiership title race has tilted away from Celtic. The form line certainly did a few weeks ago. Four defeats in six league matches under Nancy did not help one bit.

However, his sacking and the return of O’Neill for a second interim spell this season ignited fresh belief as he secured back-to-back wins against Dundee United and Falkirk.

The 73-year-old remains unbeaten domestically, but Sunday’s draw at Tynecastle means they have to make up a two-point gap to Rangers and six points on Hearts.

For all the changes in the dugout and expected changes on the pitch during the January transfer window, when you check the bookmakers’ prices on the title race, one thing has not shifted: Celtic remain favourites with Sky Bet.

Whether that will prove right or wrong come the end of the season, only time will tell. But bookmakers do not price emotion. They price probability. And in this title race, probability still leans heavily towards Celtic – even amid the turbulence.

The bookmakers are banking on institutional memory in that this is a club that knows how to win a title when the pressure tightens. And, crucially, the underlying data also offers comfort.

Under Nancy, Celtic were still controlling matches. Chance creation did not collapse – conversion did, while defensive lapses were costly.

Celtic might not look like champions right now. That much is clear. However, they did under O’Neill when he first returned to the club.

Five league wins from five, with just one goal conceded, was the record from his first interim spell. While this spell has already seen dropped points, if O’Neill can keep the Hoops unbeaten over the coming months, anything is possible.