Is Scottish Premiership Title Race Set For Fresh Twist?

ByNick McPheat

BBC Sport Scotland

Rangers will spell apical of nan Scottish Premiership for nan first clip this play if they hit Dundee United connected Saturday.

Yep, this bonkers title title could beryllium group for a caller twist connected Easter weekend.

If Danny Rohl's broadside are successful, galore will expect Heart of Midlothian to return to nan acme pinch triumph distant to bottommost broadside Livingston connected Sunday.

However, nan existent leaders only request to inquire nan squad hoping to leapfrog them 24 hours earlier why that mightiness not beryllium truthful easy.

Celtic, 5 points disconnected apical spot, look different travel to Dundee pinch small room for correction aft losing successful nan metropolis past clip retired to Dundee United astatine Tannadice.

Closing retired nan play action, Martin O'Neill's men will cognize whether nan chance is location to haul themselves correct backmost into nan title - aliases whether they will beryllium trying to constrictive an moreover bigger gap.

What benignant of consequence would you get from a Rangers instrumentality if you told them their squad would person nan chance to spell apical of nan heap successful April erstwhile Russell Martin was being smuggled retired of Falkirk six months earlier?

After that 1-1 draw, Martin was sacked pinch nan Ibrox broadside successful eighth place, 11 points adrift of apical spot aft 1 triumph successful 7 convention matches.

Another tie against United successful their pursuing crippled nether interim leader Steven Smith extended that spread to 13 points.

Ibrox was toxic that October afternoon. Twenty-four weeks on, triumph successful a repetition of that fixture will nonstop Rohl's broadside to nan acme for astatine slightest 24 hours.

It has been acold from cleanable nether nan German caput coach, but aft 16 Premiership matches - 10 wins, six draws and 1 conclusion - a imaginable momentum-shifting infinitesimal is location to beryllium grasped.

Failure to capitalise, however, and momentum could displacement nan different measurement and nan Glasgow club's fans will only reiterate their doubts astir nan team's mentality.

Plus, they will beryllium facing a United broadside buoyed by their awesome 2-0 occurrence complete Celtic earlier nan world break, but nan visitors person not won a convention crippled astatine Ibrox since April 2011.

A Rangers triumph would crank nan unit up to a caller level connected Hearts, who could beryllium knocked disconnected apical spot for nan first clip since September.

On a box-office Easter Sunday, Derek McInnes' broadside footwear disconnected a two-match paper astatine Livingston, who person won conscionable 1 of their 31 convention games and are 12 points adrift astatine nan ft of nan table.

A skoosh for nan Gorgie visitors then? A 2-2 tie pinch Rangers successful West Lothian successful February suggests otherwise, positive Hearts needed a stoppage-time victor astatine nan aforesaid venue successful August.

The Premiership leaders person besides mislaid their latest 3 distant games, but they will dream to person talismanic striker Lawrence Shankland fresh to commencement a crippled for nan first clip since January aft his return from nan chair against Dundee past clip out.

Pressure could besides intensify connected Celtic, who are 5 points disconnected Hearts and 2 down Rangers pursuing their damaging conclusion astatine Tannadice.

Former striker Chris Sutton says his aged broadside person to beryllium cleanable successful their last 8 games to guidelines a chance and victories for nan apical 2 - aliases moreover conscionable 1 - would reenforce that position by nan clip Celtic footwear disconnected astatine Dens Park, wherever they person already mislaid this term.

The truth that nan apical 3 person each only won erstwhile successful nan aforesaid play this play is simply a singular statistic that only highlights nan twisting-and-turning quality of this gripping fight.

Therefore, do not beryllium shocked to spot nan reigning champions propel themselves backmost into contention successful nan astir predictably unpredictable title race.