Scottish Premiership finale – Rangers records, fight for third, relegation and play-offs
The Scottish Premiership 2020/21 season is reaching its conclusion but what’s still to be decided?
A penultimate round of fixtures takes place on Wednesday night, before the curtain falls on a dramatic campaign this weekend.
But with relegation, Rangers records and a jostle for third, before pivotal play-offs and cup showdowns, there is plenty still to play for…
- Scottish Premiership table
- Get Sky Sports
- Scottish Premiership fixtures | results
Rangers… Invincibles and Centurions?
Rangers have waited a decade for Scottish Premiership and James Tavernier will finally lift a long-awaited trophy aloft after their season finale against Aberdeen on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
A momentous occasion awaits but can Steven Gerrard’s players finish the campaign unbeaten in the league?
Trending
They must overcome Davie Martindale’s Livingston on Wednesday night before they can focus on leaping the final hurdle at home to the Dons but by avoiding defeat in their final two fixtures, the 2021 champions will become one of just three teams in Scottish history to go a league campaign unbeaten.
Gerrard’s side will be keen to finish as Centurions as well as Invincibles – a win and a draw from their remaining two fixtures this week would do it.
- Rangers dominate Scottish POTY shortlist
With a current 23-point advantage over Celtic, Rangers are on course to finish the season with their biggest gap over Celtic in the league, surpassing the 21-point lead they assembled in the 1999/2000 season.
They have also conceded a paltry 13 league goals this season and if Allan McGregor concedes fewer than five goals in Gers’ final two games, Rangers will surpass the record of 18 goals conceded by Martin O’Neill’s Celtic in 2001/2.
“The excitement is building but we don’t want any hiccups to spoil the good season we’ve had,” said Tavernier.
“Our full focus is on [Livingston] and then we can focus on playing Aberdeen. After that all the joy and the emotion will just be coming out straight after the game.
“It would be sweet to go the season unbeaten but we know we have two tough games ahead of ourselves and we just have to focus on Wednesday night and getting the job done there.”
“We are going to be right up for it in the two final games to turn around our form and hopefully end the season on a high,” warned Livi defender Jon Guthrie.
“Obviously Rangers have had an amazing season but if you are the team that can break that run it’s something to be proud of and remember. We were quite unlucky last game when we lost 1-0, and took a point off them in the game before. We know we can give them a game here. If we can end their unbeaten run it would be amazing.”
Third spot up for grabs – and why fight for fifth could be crucial
There is plenty still to play for elsewhere.
Five Scottish sides will qualify for European competition next season, though who plays in which competition is not yet fully confirmed.
Rangers and Celtic have already booked their places in the Champions League, with the champions entering the 2021/22 tournament at the third qualifying stage and runners-up Celtic starting in the second round.
Hibernian and Aberdeen are jostling for the unofficial ‘best of the rest’ title and the Edinburgh side can secure third spot behind Rangers and Celtic for the first time since 2005 with victory against the Dons on Wednesday.
Securing third spot would also bring with it a £2m windfall – £200,000 more than the prize money sum on offer for finishing fourth – but Jack Ross is more interested in sporting prestige.
“We’re looking to finish in a position in the league that the club hasn’t done for 15 or so years,” he said. “It’s a position we want to consistently challenge to be in and achieve.
“Hopefully it’s indicative of the steps forward this squad has made over the course of the season. We’ve had to fight and work hard to put ourselves in third place and now we’re this close to it we don’t want that opportunity to slip by.”
Hibs and Aberdeen are already assured of their places in the new Europa Conference League and will enter at the second qualifying round.
But Hibs could yet play in the Europa League; a place in the play-off round of Europe’s second-tier club competition goes to the winners of the Scottish Cup.
If Hibs beat St Johnstone on May 22, they would enter the Europa League and their Europa Conference place would go to whoever finishes fifth in the league – St Johnstone or Livingston, who play each other on the final weekend.
If St Johnstone win the Scottish Cup, Hibs would have to settle for the Europa Conference League.
Who’s going down… or coming up?
Hamilton, Kilmarnock and Ross County are fighting to avoid relegation to the Championship and Wednesday night serves up a crunch fixture at the bottom as Ross County host Hamilton.
A Ross County victory – coupled with a win for second-bottom Kilmarnock against St Mirren – would confirm Hamilton’s relegation and end their seven-year stay in the top flight.
Brian Rice has urged his Hamilton players to visualise victory, saying: “It comes down to nerve sometimes, individual feelings, but you are a footballer, you have to handle these things.
“If you dread it and fear it, fear making a mistake, you’ve got a bit of a problem. If you look forward to it, dream about scoring a winning goal, making a big save, scoring a penalty, whatever it may be. That has been my message all along. Just be positive.
“We will try to go and get three points and take it into the last game. That is the objective and that is what we will try to do.”
Whoever finishes bottom will swap place with Hearts, who secured automatic promotion to the Scottish Premiership for 2021/22 after winning the Championship.
But the promotion and relegation play-offs means whoever finishes second-bottom may still not be safe.
The 11th-placed Scottish Premiership club will play the Championship play-off winners over two legs to decide who will take the final spot in next season’s top-flight line-up.
Dunfermline, Raith Rovers and Dundee were the three Championship sides involved in this season’s play-offs but Raith have already seen off Dunfermline in their two-legged quarter-final to set up a semi-final with Championship runners-up Dundee, with the first leg taking place on Wednesday night.
Whichever side prevails in over those two legs will meet one of Hamilton, Kilmarnock or Ross County in another two-legged showdown on May 20 and May 24.
Who will finish top scorer?
Keep an eye on who bangs in the goals over the last couple of games, too.
Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard leads the way with 17 goals, with Hibs’ Kevin Nisbet (14) his closest challenger.
Nisbet’s team-mate Martin Boyle is two goals further back, along with Rangers pair Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.
It’s a battle between Rangers and Aberdeen – the two sides squaring up in front of the Sky cameras on Saturday – for most clean sheets. Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis is currently edging Gers’ Allan McGregor 17 to 16…
How to follow
Follow Wednesday’s Scottish Premiership action with our live blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free match highlights from each game will be available on Sky Sports’ digital platforms from 11.45pm on Wednesday night.
Rangers vs Aberdeen – including the trophy lift – will then be live on Sky Sports Football on Saturday.
Wednesday’s fixtures
Dundee United vs Motherwell – kick-off 6pm
Livingston vs Rangers – kick-off 6pm
Celtic vs St Johnstone – kick-off 6.30pm
Aberdeen vs Hibernian – kick-off 7.45pm
Kilmarnock vs St Mirren – kick-off 7.45pm
Ross County vs Hamilton – kick-off 7.45pm
Live SPFL
Final-round fixtures
Sat May 15: Hibernian vs Celtic – kick-off 12.30pm
Sat May 15: Rangers vs Aberdeen – kick-off 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Football
Sat May 15: St Johnston vs Livingston – kick-off 12.30pm
Sun May 16: Hamilton vs Kilmarnock – kick-off 12pm
Sun May 16: Motherwell vs Ross County – kick-off 12pm
Sun May 16: St Mirren vs Dundee United – kick-off 12pm
Scottish Premiership play-off fixtures and results
Tues May 4: Quarter-final first leg – Dunfermline 0-0 Raith Rovers
Sat May 8: Quarter-final second leg – Raith Rovers 2-0 Dunfermline
Wed May 12: Semi-final first leg – Raith Rovers vs Dundee – kick-off 7.45pm
Sat May 15: Semi-final second leg – Dundee vs Raith Rovers – kick-off 7.45pm
Thurs May 20: Final first leg – Dundee or Raith Rovers vs 11th-placed Premiership club
Mon May 24: Final second leg – 11th-placed Premiership club vs Dundee or Raith Rovers
Source: Read Full Article