Celtic & Hearts set for titanic title duel

ByColin Moffat

BBC Sport Scotland

"It will be bedlam," said Derek McInnes as he prepares to take Hearts to Celtic Park for the final-day decider in the Scottish Premiership.

The Edinburgh side have been out in front since September and have a one-point lead after 37 games.

Avoid defeat and Hearts will be champions of Scotland for the first time since 1960.

No team outside the Old Firm duo of Celtic and Rangers has finished top of the pile since Aberdeen in 1985 and this is Scotland's first final-day title shootout between the top two since Rangers edged out the Dons in 1991.

Celtic must win to defend their crown and make it five-in-a-row.

As if emotions weren't heightened enough, it could be a final home game for stand-in boss Martin O'Neill, the veteran saying there was a "reasonable chance" of that being the case. He expects an "electric" atmosphere.

"Pure box office," is how McInnes described the Saturday lunchtime game.

The 12:30 BST kick-off at Celtic Park will have the eyes of the world on it.

BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound will be on air from 11:30 and will provide commentary, with text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.

Match highlights will be shown on Sportscene, BBC Scotland and iPlayer from 19:15.

Celtic have momentum as they aim for a seventh successive league victory.

Performances have not always been convincing but they have been getting over the line.

Hearts had a wobble before the league split, picking up just one point from four away games, but they have responded well with three wins and a draw since the division broke in two for the run-in.

The league leaders are unbeaten against Celtic in three meetings this term.

In October, they enjoyed a 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which brought Brendan Rodgers' second spell at Celtic to an end.

Two months later, they ruined Wilfried Nancy's debut as Celtic boss, leaving Glasgow with a 2-1 success.

In January, Hearts twice came from behind in a 2-2 draw in Gorgie.

While they are unbeaten at home in the league, Hearts have been less sure on their travels, losing five and drawing four.

Celtic have suffered eight Premiership losses this season, which is more than the past two campaigns combined, with half of those coming during the short-lived Nancy tenure.

Celtic are going for a 14th title in 15 years and have been champions of Scotland on 55 occasions.

Hearts have been waiting 66 years since their fourth triumph.

There were agonising near things in 1965 and 1986 for the Tynecastle side, losing out on the old goal average system after a final-day decider at home to Kilmarnock in the former.

The latter was maybe even more brutal since Hearts were seven minutes away from glory before Dundee substitute Albert Kidd struck twice at Dens Park. Celtic took full advantage of that first defeat in 32 games, hammering five goals past St Mirren in Paisley to prevail on goal difference.

Celtic have had their share of final-day triumphs and disappointments since 1986. They missed out on the title in the last fixture in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2011. However, they finished top after a closing-day win in 2008 - 10 years on from another of their close-run league title wins.

O'Neill has come out of retirement not once but twice this season to bail Celtic out.

The 74-year-old won seven trophies during his first stint at Celtic between 2000-05, including three league titles.

When he got the emergency call to replace Rodgers, O'Neill had been out of management for more than six years.

Under his guidance, Celtic reeled off five successive league wins to move level with Hearts, with a game in hand.

Then he had to do it all again.

Barely four weeks after waving his goodbyes, O'Neill was back and Hearts were six points clear, with both sides 20 matches into the campaign.

Defeat by Dundee United at Tannadice left Celtic five off the pace with seven rounds remaining, with Rangers sitting second. O'Neill said he would need seven wins to have a chance. He has delivered the first six.

McInnes finished ninth with Kilmarnock last season, two places below Hearts.

During his time at Aberdeen, he finished as a runner-up to Celtic three years running.

His silverware collection is dwarfed by O'Neill's but Hearts do have their own wily old master in the background, with Sir Alex Ferguson offering guidance to McInnes.

The last man to break the Old Firm duopoly has been seen in a maroon tie at Tynecastle and is in regular contact with the Hearts boss.

Don Robertson will have the whistle for the big game, aided by assistant referees Calum Spence and David Roome, while Kevin Clancy and assistant Matthew MacDermid will be at the VAR controls.

Officials are always under scrutiny and, with the stakes so high, every decision will be watched closely.

Celtic beat Motherwell on Wednesday with a contentious 99th-minute penalty, awarded after VAR intervention.

Hearts were denied a spot-kick at Fir Park last weekend, with referee Steven McLean sticking to his guns after a call to the monitor.

McInnes has referenced "glaring inconsistencies" but O'Neill seems unflustered, saying the recent furore is "because everybody outside of Celtic wants Hearts to win".

In 'show us your medals' terms, Celtic are way ahead.

Home captain Callum McGregor is a serial winner, lifting 24 major trophies, while James Forrest, likely to be among the substitutes, is the club's most decorated player.

Kieran Tierney and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bring a wealth of experience and Sweden international Benjamin Nygren has knocked in 21 goals from midfield in all competitions.

Daizen Maeda has come to the boil at the right time, scoring seven goals in his past five games.

Claudio Braga was playing in the Norwegian second tier last season but has two goals against Celtic in a tally of 17.

His Hearts strike-partner Lawrence Shankland has two more, despite the skipper missing eight league games with a hamstring tear at the start of 2026.

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill: "The players have had things their own way in recent times, now they've had to fight, and so far they've shown that they're up for it. They're ready to go.

"If we can win, then somewhere along the way, I think we deserve to win it. It's the number of points that you end up with at the end of the season that determines these things.

"It was a privilege to come back. I'd never thought in a million years that this could have happened. I should really be enjoying it a bit more."

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes: "I'm not nervous, but dealing with nerves is part of professional sport, particularly when it gets to this stage.

"There's been a lot of pressure on our lads for a long time now, but the players have dealt with it brilliantly.

"Regardless of what happens, it has been a brilliant campaign, but it could be the most special campaign.

"With the records broken internally as a club, and what we've done this season, I think they'll always be regarded as a special team. But obviously if we want to elevate that, we have to go and win it."