Celtic's last three fixtures could not have been arranged more kindly had they been hand-picked by their head coach Wim Jansen. The leaders are at home to Hibernian, the league's bottom team, today while their closest pursuers Rangers and Hearts meet at Tynecastle.

Wins for Celtic and Hearts would virtually assure the Parkhead side of the championship, leaving them six points ahead of the others with two matches remaining and with a superior goal difference.

Celtic have only one more away match, next week at Dunfermline, second from bottom of the table, before finishing against St Johnstone at home. Rangers have Kilmarnock at home next week and finally Dundee United away, and unsurprisingly the Ibrox manager Walter Smith regards his fiercest rivals as warm favourites for their first title in 10 years.

"The pressure has been on all three teams for the past few weeks but we helped alleviate Celtic's by losing at Aberdeen last Sunday," Smith admitted. "Now we have to win our last three games - and, with Celtic having a three-point lead, even that may not be enough."

Smith has to rely on something of a makeshift defence in Edinburgh since his goalkeeper Andy Goram has a pulled hamstring, centre-half Lorenzo Amoruso is suspended and two other first-team central defenders, Sergio Porrini and Gordan Petric, are unfit. If Goram's hamstring does not ease, Antti Niemi, who kept goal for Finland against Scotland on Wednesday, will play.

Hearts have fallen six points off the pace and their manager Jim Jefferies hinted he may rest one or two players with an eye to the Scottish Cup final against Rangers on May 17th. The Tynecastle side, having drawn three consecutive home games and lost the derby with Hibs at Easter Road, need a restorative.

Jansen is unlikely to alter the Celtic side which thumped Motherwell 4-1 last Saturday but he will be watching for signs of tiredness in some of the players he had on international duty this week.