Hearts and Celtic clinch Champions League qualifying spots
Hearts will play in the Champions League qualifiers next season for the first time in 20 years after Celtic’s victory over Rangers guaranteed a top-two Scottish Premiership finish for both clubs.
The pivotal result in Sunday’s Old Firm derby means that Rangers can now finish no higher than third in the league standings.
Consequently, the traditional dominance of the Glasgow giants has been disrupted for the first time since Aberdeen achieved the feat in consecutive campaigns up to 2018.
Title ambitions remain alive for Edinburgh club
The Scottish Premiership runners-up will enter the elite European competition at the second qualifying round, requiring three successful ties to reach the lucrative league phase.
However, Derek McInnes’ side are still firmly in the hunt for the domestic crown and will hope to enter the play-off round reserved for the champions.
Claiming the top spot would secure a first league triumph since 1960 for the Tynecastle outfit.
They can mathematically seal the championship by defeating Falkirk at home on Wednesday before avoiding defeat against Martin O’Neill’s men this weekend.
Should the capital club secure a victory in Glasgow on Saturday, the midweek results will be rendered entirely irrelevant.
Historical context and European ramifications
The last time the Jam Tarts navigated the premier European qualifiers was following the 2005-06 season, where they ultimately finished as runners-up to Celtic.
During that historic run, they successfully eliminated Bosnian outfit Siroki Brijeg before suffering a defeat against AEK Athens in the subsequent round.
Meanwhile, Danny Rohl’s Rangers squad are currently bound for the Conference League qualifiers.
Their European trajectory could still improve to the Europa League preliminary rounds, provided Celtic emerge victorious against Dunfermline Athletic in the upcoming Scottish Cup final.