When will Celtic play Rangers in blockbuster title decider? The multiple clues which leads to only one date

There will be storylines aplenty before Celtic and Rangers lock horns in the final battle of a pulsating Scottish Premiership title race – but one question remains outstanding.

When will this blockbuster take place? Our game is used to taking a bashing but even the most ardent critics of life in the cinch concede the split is magical and now we have a title race to justify a compelling format. Rangers have two games to see off in the form of Dundee and Ross County away with Celtic hosting St Mirren on Saturday.

Then it's five games apiece to decide the title with the fixture dates pencilled in. But what does recent history, the Sky's pre-existing schedule and the rules of tight title race tell us when the fixture could land. Record Sport dons the detective cloak for some sleuthing on when the champions are likely to host their eternal rivals in a game for the ages.

Post-split fixture dates in full

Fixture round 34 - Weekend of April 27/28

Fixture round 35 - Weekend of May 4/5

Fixture round 36 - Weekend of May 11/12

Fixture round 37 - Midweek of May 14/15

Fixture round 38 - Weekend of May 18/19

Celtic and Rangers have played each other five times in the past eight seasons in the Scottish Cup semi final and that, perhaps, has made the first game after the split a harder sell. Often the third derby and the Hampden showpiece are weeks apart and that, by nature, means moving the final league date between the duo back makes sense form a logistical sense.

But the big two have been kept apart in the Mount Florida showpiece so a four week break between their third league fixture and their final showdown is a decent gap. But there are two reasons why the first game after the split, matchday 34, doesn't appear the optimal