Celtic have one hand on the Scottish Premier League trophy after coming from behind to beat Rangers 2-1 in the Old Firm derby.
In the battle for Scottish football supremacy, Celtic lead bitter rivals Rangers by six points with only six games to play.
Celtic have a goal difference advantage of 16 over their Glasgow rivals, which could also prove handy.
Celtic have history on their side – never in the 21st century has a Scottish top-flight side blown a six-point advantage with as many games remaining.
Following the defeat, Rangers need Celtic to drop seven points in the run home, highly unlikely considering Celtic have dropped just six in their past 24 games.
This weekend’s matches will see Celtic host 11th place St Johnstone, while Rangers are away to 10th place St Mirren.
Following the matches, all sides would have played 33 rounds with the Scottish Premier League then being split into two groups, dubbed ‘The Championship group’ and ‘The Relegation group’ – essentially a top six group and a bottom six group.
Each team plays the other teams in its particular group once, which ensures Celtic and Rangers will play out another Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.
The only other team guaranteed to feature in ‘The Championship group’ is Hearts, who hold a 14-point lead over fourth place Dundee United.
Celtic and Rangers will also face off in the Scottish Cup semi-final, while Rangers are still alive in the Europa League.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith Rangers fighting on all three fronts, it will test the depth of their squad which could give Celtic an advantage in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Some fans might think the title race is over, however, Celtic manager, former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, isn’t looking too far ahead as he made special mention of the fans who made the trip to Ibrox Stadium.
“It’s three points, mate,” Postecoglou said following Celtic’s win.
“The 700 inside today were outstanding and they played their part and I’m super pleased to send them home happy.”
Celtic’s first win at Ibrox since 2019 extended their unbeaten run in the league to 26 games and sealed back-to-back derby wins for the first time since 2018.
Rangers started the match on fire and scored three minutes in thanks to former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey.
It didn’t take Celtic long to equalise with Socceroo Tom Rogic scoring with a half-volley on the rebound after a save by Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
Celtic took the lead just before half time after Cameron Carter-Vickers finished off a goal-mouth scramble and smashed the ball into the net following a free kick.
The second half remained goalless and Celtic were able to hold on for victory and claim a crucial three points in the Scottish Premier League title race.
