Scottish Premiership title race: Rangers are the form horse, Celtic are favourites but Hearts lead the way | Football News

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

Momentum is swinging, pressure is mounting and every fixture now carries the weight of a season – and this Sunday is no different.

Leaders Hearts visit in-form Dundee, followed by Rangers’ trip to Aberdeen, both live on Sky Sports. Those two fixtures come 24 hours on from Martin O’Neill’s return to the Celtic dugout on an interim basis for the second time this season, with the Hoops hosting Dundee Utd on Saturday.

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

As the campaign heads towards the conclusion of the second round of fixtures, it’s Hearts who sit at the summit – leading the way on 44 points.

Rangers, on 41 points, know better than most how quickly momentum can swing in this league. It’s them who are the form horse – having picked up the most points in the league since Danny Röhl’s appointment.

Celtic, on 38 points, are driven by expectation as much as ambition. After weeks of turbulence, transition and defeats under Wilfried Nancy, there is no doubt they’ll be hoping to catapult themselves back into the title picture under the returning O’Neill…

Hearts still lead the way: Catch us if you can

Next five league fixtures:
Dundee (a) – Sunday – live on Sky Sports
St Mirren (h) – Jan 14
Celtic (h) – Jan 25 – live on Sky Sports
Dundee United (a) – Jan 31 – live on Sky Sports
St Mirren (a) – Feb 3 – live on Sky Sports

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

Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga weren’t 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’ve looked at what their system needs and gone shopping in markets others ignore.

Between them Braga (12) and Kyziridis (9) have been responsible for 21 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 10 goals and provided two assists.

Hearts, who are the league’s top goalscorers with 39 goals bagged, will need Braga, Kyziridis, Shankland and co to continue to run hot this year.

Defeats against Aberdeen and Hibernian towards the end of 2025 had opened the door for the chasers but a record of four wins from four games this season against the Old Firm has meant Hearts have kept the big boys at arms 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:
Aberdeen (a) – Sunday – live on Sky Sports
Dundee (h) – Jan 25
Hibernian (a) – Feb 1
Kilmarnock (h) – Feb 4
Motherwell (a) – Feb 11 – live on Sky Sports

“Rangers are out of it, they are finished and can forget about it, 12 points is too much to claw back.”

For Kris Boyd, his former team’s title hopes ended after their 2-1 defeat to Hearts on December 21. However, just a few weeks later, having taken 12 points from 12, 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 Russell 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 21 games tells its own story.

Now, Rangers concede far less, are more clinical from set-pieces and Röhl is not afraid of changing shape if Plan A isn’t 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.

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:
Dundee Utd (h) – Saturday
Falkirk (a) – Jan 14
Hearts (a) – Jan 25 – live on Sky Sports
Falkirk (h) – Feb 1
Aberdeen (a) – Feb 4 – live on Sky Sports

Logic suggests the Scottish Premiership title race has tilted away from Celtic. The form line certainly does. Four defeats in six league matches under Nancy didn’t help the cause.

However, his sacking and the return of O’Neill for a second interim spell this season means their dreams are not over.

The 73-year-old needs to make up a three-point gap to Rangers, and six points on leaders 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 hasn’t 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 don’t 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 didn’t collapse – conversion did, while defensive lapses were costly.

Celtic don’t 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 one goal conceded, should have kick-started the club’s title defence.

If he can repeat results like he did earlier in the season – anything is possible.