Hearts edge closer to Premiership title as Celtic and Rangers battle for second spot in 2026

Hearts move seven points clear of Rangers, leaving Celtic with a slim chance of catching them in the final three games of the Premiership.

Hearts take three-point lead over Celtic The fans of Hearts, Celtic, and Rangers agree that the Scottish Premiership title race is now a two-horse competition between Hearts and Celtic. After coming from a goal down to win 2-1 against Rangers on Monday evening, Hearts re-established their three-point lead over Celtic, who had beaten Hibernian the previous day. With that victory, Hearts effectively ended Rangers' hopes of staging a comeback in the fight for the title. Rangers would need the leaders to drop points in all of their remaining games and win all of theirs to have any chance of catching Hearts. ## Rangers' must-win game against Celtic Scott Cameron of the Rangers Journal podcast thinks that beating Celtic on Sunday is a must-win game for Rangers, regardless of the implications for Hearts. 'It's about Rangers winning the game for Rangers and the Rangers fans,' he said. 'If it's an added bonus that helps Hearts to win the league then so be it. The focus for Rangers should be - win the game and try to restore a little bit of pride. That should be all we can do.' ## Hearts seek to get their business done against Motherwell While Rangers and Celtic go head-to-head, Hearts will be trying to secure their place in the top spot away to Motherwell, a side they have only managed to beat once out of three meetings this season. Depending on results in the next two games, the Hearts' visit to Celtic Park on the final day could be a title decider. However, Hearts supporter Liam Corbett is desperately hoping that is not the case. ## Celtic fan hopes for a strong finish Celtic fan Paul John Dykes is hoping that his side's mentality will be enough to get them over the line. 'You look at the Celtic squad and, as bad as we've been this season at times, there is still that identity,' he said. 'There's the core group of players who know Celtic, who have been at Celtic since they were eight and nine years old. You can also throw in a few of other guys who have been at the club for maybe five or six seasons, guys like Liam Scales, for example, who know what this is all about.'