CELTIC can take themselves to the brink of Premiership glory with a Saturday lunchtime win against a Hearts side with one eye on the Scottish Cup Final.
The Hoops won't officially be crowned champions if they defeat the capital club, but they would be six points ahead of Rangers with two games to play and crucially have a superior goal difference of 19 which would obviously increase if they win.
Try telling Celtic fans the league wouldn't be mathematically sealed!
Of course, Ange Postecoglou's side blew a great chance to wrap up the league in front of their own fans in last week's Old Firm game when they let a 1-0 lead slip and in the end, were arguably lucky to hold on for a point.
But they are in formidable form – they are unbeaten at home in the league this season and haven't lost a league game at all since the middle of September.
They aren't quite at the high levels of a month or so ago, but they are facing a third-placed Hearts side with absolutely nothing to play for, apart from Scottish Cup Final places.
Robbie Neilson's side have enjoyed an excellent campaign, but have already lost five times in all competitions to the Old Firm this season.
How the bookies view it
Celtic are huge favourites at 2/7 with McBookie.com. The Jambos can be backed at 10/1 with bet365 and the draw is 5/1 with Betfred.
Recent head to heads
Hearts won the opening day of the season back in July at Tynecastle, but Celtic were successful in the three meetings since, including their latest encounter at Parkhead which Celtic won 1-0 as can be seen below.
The visitors last won at Parkhead in a 2009 League Cup tie.
Players to watch
Portuguese wing king Jota was the man who did the damage against Rangers last week with a goal and he is 5/4 to score anytime on Saturday with McBookie.com.
Liam Boyce has probably had better seasons, yet he still has 16 goals for Hearts in all competitions and he is 10/3 to score in the east end of Glasgow.
Anything else catch the eye?
Celtic will come tearing out the blocks here to put this to bed as early as possible, which makes the half time and full time market at 20/23 with Coral something to look at, with their odds to win far too short.
Celtic's 1-0 win in December was the first time in 11 games at Parkhead that the Hoops have failed to score at least twice against Hearts. But the visitors are capable of contributing to the scoresheet too and the 13/8 with Paddy Power for a home win and over 3.5 goals could be worth a bash.
There's nearly always some needle in this fixture so it's a surprise to see the bar set at over 3.5 cards and the 17/20 with Unibet has to be worth taking on.
This Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian will be played on May 7, 2022 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Celtic vs Heart of Midlothian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
