Celtic’s closing Scottish Premiership match against Hearts could be the ultimate title finale.
Derek McInnes’ side, who have spent the majority of the season at the top of the Scottish Premiership, could face the team they are trying to steal the trophy from on the final day of the season.
Martin O’Neill won’t want that to happen, though, with many judging the remaining fixtures as favouring Celtic. Top spot remains firmly up for grabs.
Also up for grabs will be away end tickets for the fixture, which will be played on Saturday 16 May at 12.30PM.
Your first thought when you see the fixtures…
How many points will we pick up?
Hearts’ expected allocation for Celtic Park finale
Hearts will be expected to receive an allocation of fewer than 1,000 tickets for the fixture, amounting to exactly 800.
The low allocation is a result of mutual cuts to allocations in recent years, initiated by the Edinburgh side.
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In the past, clubs such as Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs would often receive several thousand tickets, but things have been trending in the opposite direction more recently.
Tynecastle chiefs’ decision to reduce Celtic’s allocation in 2021 was widely backed by their fans – after all, they are a fan-owned club – so it looks as if they will have to reap what they’ve been sowing next month.
Meanwhile, their Edinburgh rivals at Easter Road are considering taking things in a different direction, as CEO Dan Barnett recently revealed.
He said via the Hibs Observer: “We’ve been very open and honest about what we want to do in principle, versus what the impact is from a revenue perspective.
“We’re working with the fans to make that decision together in terms of the position we adopt and whether it’s worth doing it that way.”
“It equates to around between £150,000 and £200,000 a year if our fans do not take up the allocation that’s not allocated to the offer.”
Barnett is acknowledging the obvious fact that clubs’ decisions to reduce Celtic allocations costs them a not-insignificant amount of money.
The decisions are yours…
Hearts’ post-split fixtures, and why they suit Celtic
If this season has been anything, it’s been hard to predict – so it’s important to take nothing as a given ahead of the run-in.
But Hearts’ upcoming fixture on Saturday is against Motherwell, who they’ve failed to beat in their two meetings so far this season.
They also face a tough first two fixtures after the split, with an away Edinburgh Derby against Hibs and a home meeting with Rangers.
If Hearts want to still be in the driving seat by the time they visit Parkhead on the final day, they’ll need to navigate a tougher run of games than Celtic’s.
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