There are plenty of key places up for grabs in the Scottish Premiership with just one more matchday left in the campaign.
The league has concluded for the split, which saw the top six and bottom six separated and booked in to face off over the final five games of 2021/22.
Despite Rangers being comfortable champions in 2020/21, their grip slipped away and it fell into the hands of bitter rivals Celtic. Ange Postecoglou’s side clinched the title on May 11 with an insurmountable four-point lead at the top.
Elsewhere, there’s a race for European places, and to avoid being relegated to the Scottish Championship. A snapshot of each race follows below with all tables updated as of May 11.
Scottish Premiership title race and Champions League qualification
It was an interesting Scottish Premiership title race — one that many prominent voices within Scottish football didn’t predict. Rangers won the league at a canter last season, going unbeaten under Steven Gerrard and finishing 25 points clear of downtrodden rivals Celtic.Â
Fast forward a year, and Postecoglou has his Hoops side sitting pretty at the top of the table, clinching the title with one round of matches to go.Â
Celtic go on to gain a huge reward in both footballing and financial terms, as they sealed a UEFA Champions League group stage place. The Scottish champion secured the spot given the vacancies opened by the ban of Russian clubs and the fact that this season’s Champions League winner has also qualified for the next edition through their league.
Meanwhile, second-place Rangers will retain a shot at the Champions League by entering in the second qualifying round. But they could also enter directly into the group stage if they win the Europa League after advancing to the final.
| Place | Team | Points | Games played | Goal difference | Next match |
| 1. | Celtic | 90 | 37 | +64 | vs. Motherwell, Sat. May 14 |
| 2. | Rangers | 86 | 37 | +47 | @ Hearts, Sat. May 14 |
Scottish Premiership’s European places
There are three other European berths available to other teams and they have all been claimed.
Europa League place
With the winners of the Scottish Cup qualifying for the Europa League playoff round, Hearts know they have already qualified for the competition.Â
Hearts will compete in the final for that trophy, playing Rangers on May 21 in the showpiece decider. But the Europa League playoff spot is theirs win or lose because if Rangers were to win the Scottish Cup, the Europa League playoff position would be granted to the next best-placed league finisher which also happens to be third-placed Hearts.
Europa Conference League places
That means the fourth- and fifth-placed sides in Scotland will enter the Europa Conference League at the third and second qualifying rounds, respectively, in 2022/23.Â
Motherwell and Dundee United are locked in to finish fourth and fifth with one matchday remaining.
Craig Gordon. Incredible. @jallanfilms pic.twitter.com/95Mg5uqsX8
— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) April 3, 2022
| Place | Team | Points | Games played | Goal difference | Next match |
| 3. | Hearts | 61 | 37 | +12 | vs. Rangers, Sat. May 14 |
| 4. | Motherwell | 46 | 37 | -13 | @ Celtic, Sat, May 14 |
| 5. | Dundee Utd | 45 | 37 | -8 | @ Ross County, Sat, May 14 |
| 6. | Ross County | 41 | 37 | -13 | vs. Dundee United, Sat, May 14 |
Scottish Premiership bottom six and relegation battle
St Johnstone and Dundee are both mathematically guaranteed to finish in the bottom two places, in 11th and 12th, respectively.Â
Dundee, the bottom-placed side at the end of 2021/22, will be automatically relegated to the Scottish Championship.Â
The second-bottom side will be thrust into a two-legged playoff against the Scottish Championship playoff winners to fight for the right to play Scottish Premiership football next season.
| Place | Team | Points | Games played | Goal difference | Next match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | Livingston | 46 | 37 | -6 | vs. Dundee, Sun, May 15 |
| 8. | St. Mirren | 43 | 37 | -18 | @ Aberdeen, Sun, May 15 |
| 9. | Hibernian | 42 | 37 | -8 | vs. St. Johnstone, Sun, May 15 |
| 10. | Aberdeen | 40 | 37 | -5 | vs. St. Mirren, Sun, May 15 |
| 11. | St Johnstone | 35 | 37 | -23 | @ Hibernian, Sun, May 15 |
| 12. | Dundee | 29 | 37 | -29 | @ Livingston, Sun, May 15 |
Why did the Scottish Premiership split in two?
There are many disputed reasons as to why the Scottish Premiership elects to split into two for the final run-in.
Officially, it is to prevent the need for a 44-fixture calendar which would see every team play each other four times over the duration of a campaign.Â
It prevents congestion in an already jam-packed calendar, although it has received mixed reactions over the years from fans.
Extensive league reconstruction talks were held in 2020. However, with no alternative agreement reached, the system will stay in place for the foreseeable future.
