Hearts will play within the Champions League qualifiers subsequent season for the primary time in 20 years as Celtic’s win over Rangers on Sunday assured a top-two Scottish Premiership end for each side.
Whereas followers of Derek McInnes’ aspect would have been hoping for Celtic to falter within the Outdated Agency derby to boost their title possibilities, victory for Martin O’Neill’s aspect has ensured Rangers can now solely end third.
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It means the Glasgow golf equipment have been break up for the primary time since McInnes’ Aberdeen did it in consecutive seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The Scottish Premiership runners-up will likely be within the Champions League second qualifying spherical, with three ties to navigate earlier than they attain the league part.
The Premiership winners go into the play-off spherical – the stage wherein Celtic misplaced to Kazakh aspect Kairat Almaty at the beginning of the season.
Hearts will hope it’s them, slightly than Celtic, who enter at that time of the qualifiers as it should imply they’ve received a primary title since 1960.
They’ll make sure that by beating Falkirk at dwelling on Wednesday then avoiding defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday. Ought to they win in Glasgow, what occurs in midweek – when Celtic additionally go to Motherwell – is irrelevant.
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Hearts have been final within the Champions League qualifiers after the 2005-06 season, once they completed second to Celtic.
They beat Siroki Brijeg of Bosnia & Herzegovina within the second qualifying spherical, earlier than dropping to AEK Athens within the subsequent spherical.
Rangers, in the meantime, will likely be within the Convention League qualifers until Celtic win the Scottish Cup remaining in opposition to Dunfermline Athletic. In that occasion, Danny Rohl’s aspect would transfer as much as the Europa League preliminary rounds.