When will Scottish Premiership post-split fixtures be announced? What Hearts fans need to know

Steven Naismith’s side know they will face Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock and St Mirren again but when will they know the dates?

Rangers are due to face Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow night then this weekend will be the final round of regular Scottish Premiership fixtures before the split.

We already know that Hearts will be in the top six this season while Edinburgh rivals Hibs could go to the wire in their bid to finish on the right side of the divide. Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock and St Mirren are also guaranteed a top half finish while Livingston, Ross County, St Johnstone and Aberdeen will be in the bottom with Nick Montgomery’s side battling Dundee and Motherwell for sixth place going into the final games.

Hearts are at home to Livingston this weekend and then will turn their attention to the Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday, April 21. Third place isn’t quite in the bag yet, although it looks unlikely the Jambos will throw it away from here, so the remaining league matches could still be crucial. Here is everything Hearts fans need to know about when the post-split fixtures will be confirmed, who they will face and when:

When are the Scottish Premiership post-split fixtures?

The SPFL are still to confirm all the dates for the post-split fixtures but we know that the final round of games (Matchday 38) will be played the weekend of May 18 and 19. With the final round of fixtures being played this weekend followed by the Scottish Cup semi-finals that will leave a 28 day period to fit in five rounds of matches.

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As well as May 18 and 19 we should expect fixtures on the weekend’s of April 27 and 28, May 4 and 5 as well as May 11 and 12. That leaves two more rounds of fixtures likely to be played on two of the four available midweeks between the Scottish Cup semi-finals and Matchday 38.

When will the Scottish Premiership post-split fixtures be announced?

Barring any postponements we will know by the end of Saturday’s matches which teams will make up the top and bottom six this season. Rangers face Ross County on Sunday so don’t expect the fixtures to be confirmed until after that match.

Even then, it’s unlikely we will know the fixtures and dates on Sunday. Last season the SPFL confirmed the dates and fixtures for the remaining five matchdays on the Tuesday after the final round of normal season fixtures had been played.

When will TV selections be confirmed and how many Hearts fixtures will be televised?

TV selections can be hard to predict due stipulations in the broadcasting deal with Sky. By the time the matches come around Hearts will have had four league matches picked up by Sky while Edinburgh rivals Hibs will have had just two.

If the Easter Road side do make the top half of the spilt then that may give those in charge of selecting fixtures for television coverage something to think about. However, if they do pass on a potential Edinburgh derby in favour of a Celtic or Rangers match it won’t be the first time and supporters should only expect to see their matches on TV if they are playing one of the Glasgow sides with anything else a pleasant surprise.

Who will be in the top six and who will be in the bottom six?

Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Kilmarnock and St Mirren are guaranteed to be in the top six. Livingston, Ross County, St Johnstone and Aberdeen will be in the bottom half.

The remaining place in the top six will be contested between Dundee, Hibs and Motherwell. Dundee are due to face Rangers at Dens Park on Wednesday and the Dark Blues would confirm themselves as the final top half team with a win while a draw would be enough to end Motherwell’s hopes and put them two points clear of Hibs.

The final round of regular matches sees Dundee travel to Aberdeen while Motherwell and Hibs go head-to-head at Fir Park. That means, if Rangers win on Wednesday, it really will be all to play for this weekend.