- Rangers move ahead of Celtic in the Premiership table and in the statistics.
- Hearts remain title favourites ahead of the last seven matches.
- Danny Rohl backs his team to win all seven and lift the Premiership crown.
Rangers kept pace with Scottish Premiership league leaders Hearts with a comfortable home victory over Aberdeen.
Danny Rohl’s side also moved into second place ahead of Celtic after Martin O’Neill’s side slipped up with a defeat to Dundee United.
Rangers now sit three points off the summit with seven games remaining – but how realistic are their chances for the title?
Underlying data on SPFL title race
According to the latest study from Football Meets Data, Rangers are now second favourites in the SPFL title race – overtaking Celtic.
The stats underline just how costly that loss could prove for the Hoops and how vital it could be for Rangers.
Celtic’s defeat has seen them fall from projected champions to third favourites, their title probability dropping sharply by 19% to 20%.
In contrast, current leaders Hearts’ narrow win over Dundee has strengthened their position at the top, boosting their chances by 10% to 42% and restoring them as outright favourites.
Rangers, meanwhile, continue to build momentum at the right time, rising by 9% to 38% amid their run of 14 matches unbeaten in the league.
Rohl’s Gers now sit three points off the summit with seven games remaining, and the data suggests the title race is a finely balanced three-way battle, albeit one in which Celtic have surrendered significant ground.
Rangers run-in
The Ibrox side’s consistency, coupled with Hearts’ resilience, has shifted the pressure squarely onto O’Neill’s team as the run-in approaches.
Rangers still need to visit both Celtic Park and Tynecastle post-split but if Rangers can come out on top in Edinburgh and avoid defeat across the city – the title will be theirs.
“If we win the seven games, we will win the league,” Rohl said in agreement.
“We are not scared.
“It is important that we have something to celebrate on the final matchday.”
Read Rangers analysis
Rohl has been consistent about these final games being “cup finals.”
If his players can negotiate their way through them all, the celebrations will outweigh any cup triumph.
The data while built on solid grounding – means nothing if the mentality isn’t right at Ibrox.
That quality has been questioned by many across the season.
Rangers now must keep their momentum and avoid any slip ups to silence doubters as the SPFL title race intensifies.
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