How does Scottish Premiership split work?

The Scottish Premiership has been one of Europe’s most intriguing leagues this season and what promises to be a thrilling run-in will be played out once the division splits in two.

Hearts, Rangers and Celtic are involved in a three-way title tussle and will have Motherwell and Hibernian for company in the home straight.

Newly-promoted Falkirk are as good as there too, since Dundee United, in seventh, need a six-point and an eight-goal swing over two games to usurp the Bairns.

This is how the split – which first took place in season 2000-01 – will work.

What is the split?

After 25 years, it should be a familiar process – but it still leaves a bit of head scratching.

The split takes place after 33 rounds of fixtures – with the final round of first-phase games on the weekend of 11 and 12 April – by which time all 12 teams will have played each other three times.

For rounds 34 to 38, the top-six sides play each other once more and the bottom six teams do likewise.

It means five games per team against those closest to them in the table, as the title, European places and relegation are decided.

Sound straightforward? Well, sometimes it isn’t…

Imperfect balancing act

Clearly, the SPFL does not know which sides will be in which half of the table at the start of the season when deciding who will have 16 home games and 17 away games prior to the split. Calculations are based on the previous campaign.

If you’ve had 17 home games, you would nominally expect to play two more after the split. If you’ve had 16 at home, you’d expect three.

Hearts, Rangers, Motherwell and Falkirk will have played 17 at home up to round 33. Celtic and Hibs will have played 16 at home.

Here’s where it gets a bit tricky.

Given the need to even out home and away derbies and the stakes in the title race, two of Hearts’ away games will be at Easter Road and Celtic Park, while Rangers will be away to Celtic and Hearts, having hosted those sides twice in the Premiership already this term.

However, Falkirk will get a third league trip to Tynecastle having visited Hearts twice during the the first 33 rounds of the campaign.

As well as visits from Hearts and Rangers, Celtic will have a home meeting with Falkirk, who much like their record against Hearts, have already been to Celtic Park twice this season.

Meanwhile, Rangers will have hosted Hibs, Falkirk and Motherwell only once each but will only have two home post-split games. Similarly, Motherwell have hosted Falkirk, Hibs and Rangers twice each but can only expect two home games against that trio.

Meanwhile, Rangers will have only hosted Falkirk once by the time the season ends. Similarly, Motherwell have hosted Falkirk, Hibs and Rangers twice each but can only expect two home games against that trio.

It’s a headache for the SPFL to resolve and will leave some sets of fans grumbling.

[BBC Sport]

Seventh with more points than sixth?

Once the door shuts after round 33, that’s it, you can’t leave your half.

It can make for an odd looking table.

In 2023-24, seventh had a higher final points tally than fifth and eighth better than sixth.

Bottom six complications

Dundee United, Dundee, Aberdeen, St Mirren, Kilmarnock and stranded Livingston are in the bottom half just now.

Dundee United, Dundee, Aberdeen, St Mirren, Kilmarnock and stranded Livingston are the six teams confirmed in the bottom half of the table.

The team finishing last will be relegated and the team in 11th will go into a two-legged play-off with a Championship side to try to stay up.

Four of the six will have played 16 home league games and 17 away come the split. United or Falkirk and Killie will have the opposite.

One of the home-away discrepancies could centre around Dundee United. As well as the Dundee derby, United would have one other home game but all four of Aberdeen, Killie, Livi and St Mirren have been to Tannadice in the league twice already this season.

Livingston will now have to make a third trip there this campaign.

Kilmarnock will have two home games. However, Dundee have already been to Rugby Park twice already and will need to make a third trip to Ayrshire.