Rangers have handed Celtic an opportunity to put some distance between the Glasgow rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership after being held to a 2-2 draw by Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday night.

Derek McInnes’ side arrived on Tayside having won seven consecutive matches in all competitions, a run which included two victories over Martin O’Neill’s Celtic last month.

Those results had helped transform the mood around Ibrox, with Rangers appearing to have the momentum.

See the full Celtic v Rangers head-to-head record on our derby page.

But Saturday’s draw has changed the picture considerably.

Rangers fell behind to Bradley Fink’s first-half opener before Badredine Bouanani equalised with a spectacular strike. Nico Raskin then put the visitors ahead after the break, only for Callum Jones to punish a defensive mistake and restore parity for Dundee.

It means Celtic can move four points clear of Rangers with victory over Hearts at Celtic Park on Sunday afternoon.

Celtic Have an Opportunity to Respond

There has been no shortage of criticism directed towards Celtic in recent weeks, much of it entirely justified.

O’Neill’s side were beaten twice by Rangers in September, losing 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup before suffering a 1-0 Premiership defeat at Celtic Park just seven days later.

Celtic were poor in both encounters. The performances were disjointed, the attacking play largely ineffective and Rangers looked the better organised side.

Those victories understandably gave McInnes and his players a considerable lift, particularly against a Celtic team that has looked poorly assembled and short of answers in several important matches this season.

Yet there is a difference between getting the better of Celtic in two individual encounters and consistently collecting points over the course of a league campaign.

Rangers have been rightly praised for their recent improvement, but Saturday night was a reminder that the title race will not be decided by September’s derby results.

For all Celtic’s problems, they remain top of the Premiership.

A victory on Sunday would leave them four points ahead of the side that beat them twice in the space of a week.

That would be a rather different picture from the one being painted immediately after those derby defeats.

Hearts Test

Of course, none of Saturday’s events will matter quite as much if Celtic fail to take advantage.

Hearts arrive at Celtic Park sitting third in the Premiership, having collected 16 points from their opening eight matches.

Sunday’s encounter is also their first visit to Glasgow’s east end since the extraordinary final day of last season, when Celtic scored twice late on to snatch the league title away from the Edinburgh club.

Under Wouter Vrancken, Hearts have continued to demonstrate that their challenge last season was no isolated achievement.

Celtic, meanwhile, are coming off another bruising European experience following Thursday’s 4-1 defeat to Benfica.

There remain legitimate questions about O’Neill’s team, its recruitment and its ability to perform against stronger opposition.

A win over Hearts would not suddenly provide satisfactory answers to all of them.

But it would represent an important result against a side with genuine ambitions of competing towards the top of the table.

It would also put Celtic in a position that might have seemed unlikely to some supporters following last month’s defeats to Rangers.

A Chance to Change the Conversation

One of the more frustrating aspects of Celtic’s season has been the team’s inability to build any sustained confidence.

The 2-0 victory over Motherwell last weekend offered some encouragement, with Camilo Duran and Benjamin Nygren scoring as Celtic returned to winning ways in the Premiership.

That performance was followed by another disappointing night in Europe.

However, Celtic’s domestic record remains considerably stronger than their recent performances might suggest, with seven victories from eight league matches before Sunday’s meeting with Hearts.

There is an opportunity now to make that record count.

Rangers had the chance to apply pressure by winning at Dundee and moving above Celtic before Sunday’s match.

They failed to take it.

Instead, O’Neill’s players will walk out at Celtic Park knowing exactly what three points would mean.

It is still October, and a four-point advantage would hardly settle anything. Celtic supporters know better than most how quickly the landscape can change over the course of a season.

Nevertheless, Rangers’ recent victories over Celtic have understandably occupied much of the discussion surrounding the title race.

Sunday presents an opportunity to change that conversation.

Celtic may have lost both battles against Rangers last month, but they could finish this weekend four points ahead in the league.

For a team that has endured so much criticism, much of it deserved, that is an opportunity O’Neill and his players simply have to grasp.