Hearts vs Celtic Predictions
Hearts have been in great form, but Celtic will take confidence from a positive Europa League performance on Thursday. In a tough-to-call contest, I fancy both teams to score at Tynecastle.
Hearts Back in the Groove
- Hearts have seen BTTS in 4 of their last 6 home matches
- Celtic have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 4 matches against Hearts
- Celtic have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 11 away matches
Tight Recent H2H Record
Hearts and Celtic have met on eight occasions in the past two years. Both teams claimed four victories during that period. Over a longer haul, Celtic have dominated the fixture, winning 15 of 21 matches since 2020.
Hearts Extend Premiership Advantage
Hearts return to Premiership business after a shock Scottish Cup defeat against Falkirk last weekend. Level at 1-1 after 120 minutes, Derek McInnes's side slipped to a 5-4 defeat via spotkicks.
A return to form in recent weeks has seen the Jambos win six of their last seven Premiership matches. Hearts had dropped points in five of six previous league fixtures.
Usually reliable at Tynecastle, Hearts are unbeaten in 11 home Premiership fixtures this season (W8, D3). McInnes's men remain six points clear of Celtic and Rangers in a keenly contested Scottish title fight.
Celtic Pick-Up the Pace in Italy
Celtic come into Sunday's crucial Premiership contest after a morale-boosting 2-2 draw against Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday. Reduced to ten men in the first half, Martin O'Neill's side showed plenty of courage to hold on for a point under sustained second-half pressure from the Serie A hosts.
Since the return of the 73-year-old O'Neill earlier this month, Celtic have remained unbeaten in four games, picking up three successive victories before their hard-fought draw in Italy.
On the road, the Hoops have been somewhat hit or miss this season. The Premiership champions won six but lost four of 11 away league matches since August.
Predicted Lineups and Team News
Hearts (4-4-2) Alexander Schwolow; Michael Steinwender, Craig Halkett, Stuart Findlay, Harry Milne; Blair Spittal, Cameron Devlin, Tomas Bent Magnusson; Alexandros Kiziridis, Claudio Braga; Pierre Landry Kabore.
Head coach McInnes has been dealt a hammer blow with the loss of skipper Lawrence Shankland. The Scotland forward is likely to miss the next two months of the campaign. Ugandan forward Rogers Mato has joined the club, but faces a race against the clock to secure eligibility for this weekend's crunch fixture at Tynecastle.
McInnes confirmed Hearts were working hard to secure the necessary paperwork for Sunday's matchup.
“I think it's going to be tight. The good thing is the club have done well to negotiate and broker in the fact that he's coming for this window. This gives us a huge lift," he said.
“Obviously, there's a huge emphasis on the game on Sunday, and we'd all like to have as many options as possible, to be honest.
Cammy Devlin and Beni Baningime (suspended) also miss out for the league leaders.
Celtic (4-3-3) Kasper Schmeichel; Tony Ralston, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales, Kieran Tierney; Arne Engels, Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren; Hyun-jun Yang, Daizen Maeda, Sebastian Tounekti.
Martin O'Neill is expected to make one or two changes from the side that held Bologna to a 2-2 draw on Thursday. Benjamin Nygren and Tony Ralston are likely to earn recalls to the first XI.
Kelechi Iheanacho, Marcelo Saracchi, Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota remain long-term absentees.