This is a title race that will be watched around the world and it all comes down to the final showdown, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
If Hearts can avoid defeat at Celtic Park, they will be crowned Scottish Premiership champions for the first time since 1960. But the Hoops know they can successfully defend their title if they win at home.
Hearts have effectively been in the lead all season and can go into Saturday’s final with confidence knowing they have not lost to Celtic this season.
Saturday, May 16th 11:30am
12:30pm kickoff
But Celtic have had Martin O’Neill back twice this season to steady the ship and drag them back into title contention.
Since losing to Dundee United at Tannadice Park in March, the team have won seven consecutive games in all competitions, and with six league wins they have narrowed the lead over leaders Hearts to just a single point.
Don’t expect a calm afternoon in Glasgow’s East End.
From a wild Wednesday to a decisive day
There was no need to step up in Saturday’s title game. But I get it.
For 10 minutes on Wednesday night, the Jumbos were leading Falkirk and Celtic were in dreamland chasing after them at Motherwell. Hearts’ lead heading into Saturday was set at three points, and their goal difference would have been six points.
But a last-gasp penalty dispute at Fir Park saw the Hoops come within a point, with victory giving them their fifth successive win. It’s a season like no other.
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Celtic were awarded a penalty by VAR in the final moments of the game at Fir Park.
O’Neill: Everyone wants Hearts to win.
Debate has raged since the decision to award Celtic the penalty that won the match at Fir Park.
For O’Neal, the reaction only strengthened his resolve to retain the league title.
“I’m not surprised because everyone wants Hearts to win, it’s that simple really.
“Everyone other than Celtic and the Celtic diaspora want Hearts to win. If it’s not Hearts, it’s Rangers or someone else. That’s the nature of this game.
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Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was not surprised by the impact of his stoppage-time penalty against Motherwell.
“If Hearts win the game or draw, they deserve to win the league. If we can win, I think somewhere along the way we deserve to win the league.”
“What decides these things is the number of points we get at the end of the season.
“In terms of atmosphere, it’s going to be electric, there’s no doubt about that.
“Things seem to be getting a bit more uniform at Celtic Park, which means a lot to the team and I don’t think it should be underestimated.
“This (handball rules) should be a big topic of discussion in the summer to take another look at what they are doing. Sometimes in European football it’s a little different than our football. It shouldn’t be that way, it should be uniform and simple.”
“This accidental handball, the hand in an awkward position, the people who were forced into the situation, all of that has to be taken into account. But under the current rules, it was a penalty.”
McInnes ready to ‘throw out the script’
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Derek McInnes feels the need to raise questions about the VAR controversy during Celtic’s win over Motherwell, but remains fully focused on this weekend’s title decider at Celtic Park.
Hearts may have felt they were in trouble after being denied a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Motherwell and then Celtic being awarded a second-half spot-kick against Lanarkshire.
But for Hearts manager Derek McInnes, the focus is on winning titles, not a tale of bad luck.
“It was perfect in terms of the ending of the drama. There couldn’t have been a better script, both teams going head-to-head to win the title,” he told Sky Sports News.
“It’s unusual in that sense. For us it was two big games at the beginning of the week so we wanted to make sure we were in this position with a chance to win on Saturday. We expected Celtic to win the game.
Will Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga be the key to Hearts’ final title win?
“Martin did a great job, the players did a good job to pull themselves back together.
“They’ve won so many titles in the last few weeks that they’ll probably think everything goes back to script and it’s a home game to win the title, but it’s up to us.
“Can I just keep breaking the script?
“We messed up the script this season, but I don’t think anyone expected us to be in this position from the first game of the season.
“But we deserve to be there and we’re going there confident and bullish and full of belief that we’ll get results.”
“It’s impossible to predict” – expert opinion
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Chris Boyd and Chris Sutton preview the Scottish Premiership Championship clash between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park
Sky Sports’ Chris Boyd
“It’s unbelievable for Scottish football. That sums up this season. It’s been a hell of a story from start to finish,” Boyd said.
“What a story for Hearts. They were outstanding all season.”
“But Celtic, they never went away, they just kept going.
“It’s a great chance for them to win their fifth league title as well.
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Hearts have not lost to Celtic so far this season.
“Both clubs will go into this with the mindset that we can achieve results.”
Chris Sutton of Sky Sports
“Hearts are in a position to go to Celtic Park and pick up a point and that will be enough to secure that, they have been an incredible story.
“Everyone talks about Jamestown and I get that, but Derek McInnes has done a great job.
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Callum McGregor hopes to lead team to fifth consecutive title
“The truth is, I think everyone felt early on in the season that there was going to be a period where Hearts faltered, but they didn’t.
“People are talking about the slump at Celtic and Rangers, but Hearts just cared about themselves and had a really good season.
“Celtic managed to hang on, they just showed spirit and resilience under Martin O’Neill.
“Now Celtic are playing their final game at home and there should be harmony at Celtic Park and that could carry some weight.
Martin O’Neill won three league titles in his first spell as Celtic manager
“But there could be more twists and turns and it’s going to be absolutely epic on Saturday.
“For a long time I thought Celtic would never find a solution, but they have come this far.
“But I wouldn’t count Hearts out, they have Claudio Braga and they also have Lawrence Shankland, who is the best finisher in the league.
“Hearts come into this game in good form and we need to take that confidence to Celtic Park.
“I’ve been keeping Hearts informed for some time and I think it’s impossible to predict.”
