Final Old Firm date announced by SPL

The final Old Firm derby of the season will take place on Tuesday, May 4, the Scottish Premier League have confirmed after the split. The SPL published the post-split fixtures on Saturday afternoon and, as expected, the clash between Celtic and Rangers was among the penultimate round of fixtures.Although the latter are 13 points clear of their arch-rivals with six games remaining, the SPL have taken no chances when it comes to attempting to ensure the derby is not a title-decider.Similarly, the SPL did not want the game to take place on the final weekend of the season, when the championship trophy is usually presented.Instead, Sunday, May 9 will see Rangers host Motherwell, while Celtic travel to Hearts in games that will kick-off at 1.30pm.The Old Firm have complained in the past about post-split fixtures resulting in them making three difficult away trips in one season.Rangers have drawn the short straw this season with a third match at Dundee United, but their massive lead in the title race means they are unlikely to complain too vociferously.Hearts' 1-0 win over Kilmarnock today allowed the SPL to release the fixtures this afternoon as the result ensured St Johnstone could not break into the top six.Rangers' first post-split fixture is against the Jambos next Sunday (kick-off, 12.30pm).That is followed by a trip to Hibernian the following Sunday (2.30pm) and the game at United on Saturday, May 1 (3pm).The derby at Parkhead kicks off at 7.45pm.Celtic's first post-split match is against Hibernian next Saturday (12.15pm), followed by a trip to United the following Sunday (12.15pm) and a home match with Motherwell on May 1 (3pm).As usual, the final weekend of the season will see the bottom six play on the Saturday and the top six on the Sunday.The May 8 games (12.30pm) are: Kilmarnock v Falkirk, St Johnstone v Hamilton, and St Mirren v Aberdeen.The other May 9 game (1.30pm) is Dundee United v Hibernian.As always, the split has thrown up winners and losers, with the make-up of the top and bottom six meaning Aberdeen will end up playing 20 home games this season and 18 away, while Motherwell face the opposite scenario.

Source: Team_Talk