Will it be another 1986? Will Hearts lie down to Celtic?

In 1986, Hearts were a mere ten minutes away from winning the League Championship only to lose out on goal difference to Celtic who got the required result of 5-0 against St. Mirren to snatch the league trophy out of the clutches of the Tynecastle side. For years, Hearts fans blamed St. Mirren with the usual conspiracy theories that the Paisley side gifted Celtic all five goals and laid down to the Parkhead side, while Hearts were beaten 2-0 by Dundee.

So with this season going down to the very last game of the season, and Celtic needing a win against Hearts to have any hope of lifting the SPL title, and hope that Dundee United hold Rangers at Tannadice, the question is will Hearts simply field a weakened team at Parkhead on Sunday, since they have nothing to play for?

Rangers must win at Tannadice to secure their first trophy in four years, but this season Rangers and Dundee United have drawn twice - 3-3 at Ibrox and 2-2 at Tannadice. The last time the two clubs faced one another was January 31st when the Ibrox side won 2-0.

However with Dundee United needing at least a point to secure qualification to the Europa league next season, it will be a tough game for the light blues who must win to lift the SPL title, any slip ups and they could see the title head to Parkhead. If Rangers draw or lose to United, Celtic must win against Hearts as a draw is not good enough for the Parkhead side.

Despite sitting two points behind their rivals, a win would propel them one point ahead of Rangers, and if Rangers do draw with Craig Levein’s men then both sides will be on equal points, with goal difference then taken into account. And if that does occur then Celtic will win the title as they currently have a goal difference of +1 over Rangers, so any form of a draw is not good enough for Walter Smith’s men - a win is a must.

Given some comments made in several Hearts forums, it is plain to see the Hearts fans are split on what should happen in the last game of the season. Some want Csaba Laszlo to field a side filled with up and coming talent, replacing those players who will not be at Tynecastle next season and to give their best players a rest.

This would definately cause huge uproar over in Ibrox, but the Hearts fans mentioning such a plan would just love to see such a heartache, a heartache that they suffered back in 1986. There is also an ulterior motive to this reason as well.

If such a result does happen and Celtic win the title, then Rangers will not be guaranteed any Champions League money, and they will therefore have to sell their top assets to balance the books and with an already poor Rangers side weakened further, it could prove an added advantage to Hearts who could close the gap if not split the Old Firm once again.

However the majority of Hearts fans would also like to see Celtic crash and burn at Parkhead, wanting to field their strongest side and go for broke and take Celtic on, to make them work for every ball and hope that Rangers win, so they can see the anguish on the Celtic fans faces at Full Time.

In both scenarios, Hearts have nothing to lose, they have already secured third spot and a Europa League place so they are safe in the knowledge that they are in a win-win situation. The title is in Rangers hands and it is for them to lose it, and if they do manage to drop points against United, then they must surely be punished by a Celtic side playing at home in front of a partisan but nervous crowd.

However there is no guarantee that either side of the Old Firm will win their games or pick up a point either, given how poor both have been this season at home and away domestically. It will all come down to Sunday and which side has the guts, the bottle and the balls to grab the title by the scruff of the neck.

But will Hearts lie down, will Dundee United secure that all important single point to secure European qualification, will Rangers beat United to lift the trophy, will Celtic manage the win they need to heap the pressure on Rangers or will they bottle it once again? We want your views.