Clubs play 16 or 17 home games in the 33 before the split – with a minimum of two, and a maximum of three, home fixtures after it.
Ideally, they should play 19 of each by the season’s end, but that is not always possible – and this is the second season in a row that there has been an imbalance.
In compiling its initial fixtures, the SPFL tries to predict which clubs will end up in the top six and bottom six to best avoid such a scenario, but this season promoted Falkirk have overperformed and sit in sixth spot.
As a consequence, they will play 20 home games and Livingston will have 18.
Not ideal, but the SPFL explained that they have opted for that to mitigate the impact spreading too widely.
With Falkirk five points adrift of Hibernian, an extra home game is the least likely scenario to affect European qualification. And Livingston having one fewer home game means little given they are all but relegated already.
The Scottish top flight has had such a 20/18 scenario in nearly half of its seasons.
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