Heart of Midlothian have made a flying start in the SPFL Premiership and have the chance to move eight points clear at the top when Celtic come to Tynecastle.
Investor Tony Bloom raised a few eyebrows in the summer when he said he was targeting a Jambos title success within the next decade.
But he may get his wish much sooner than anticipated with Derek McInnes’ men storming clear in the league while Celtic and Rangers implode.
Hearts are already 13 points ahead of the Ibrox side and they now have a chance to make a statement of intent against the Hoops.
With Celtic coming off the back of a Thursday night game against Sturm Graz, the Jambos will never have a better chance to beat them.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were woeful last weekend as they lost 2-0 away to Dundee and these are troubled times at Parkhead, despite a battling 2-1 win over Sturm Graz on Thursday as three bets landed for me.
Fans are still protesting against the board and the negativity hanging over the club will increase if their injury-hit side slump to another defeat at Tynecastle.
How the bookies view it: Hearts good value at 9/4
With Celtic in disarray, I’m surprised to see Hearts as big as 9/4 for a home win with BOYLE Sports. The Hoops are priced at 23/20 and the draw pays 5/2.
Recent head to head: Hoops on a roll
Celtic won all three Premiership clashes with Hearts last term, including a 4-1 stroll at Tynecastle. But the Gorgie ground hasn't been a particularly happy hunting ground for Brendan Rodgers, who has lost three times there across his two spells as Hoops boss.
Players to watch: Plenty to Brag about
Claudio Braga has been the pick of Hearts' summer signings and a double last weekend took his tally for the season to eight goals. The lively Portuguese forward is 15/8 at BOYLE Sports to add to that tally against the champions.
Sebastian Tounekti has gone off the boil a bit after a promising start to his Celtic career but his trickery could cause Hearts a few problems. The Tunisian winger is 3/1 at BOYLE Sports for anytime scorer and that looks a little overpriced.
Probable line-ups
McInnes has fielded the same Hearts side for four games in a row so it would be a surprise if the changed things up. Stopper Craig Halkett should shake off a knock to start.
Celtic suffered two big injury blows on Thursday, with striker Kelechi Iheanacho and defenders Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers crocked. Daizen Maeda is also a doubt after missing the last two games.
Heart of Midlothian: Schwolow, Kingsley, Halkett, Findlay, McIntee, Baningime, Devlin, Milne, Kyzridis, Shankland, Braga.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Scales, Murray, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Engels, Nygren, Tounekti, Kenny.
Anything else catch the eye?
Celtic have looked vulnerable when teams press them high up the pitch and I'd imagine Hearts will start at a high tempo, looking to pressure the Hoops into mistakes.
So it could pay to back Hearts for over 1.5 corners in each half, with that bet paying evens at BOYLE Sports.
This one has the potential to be pretty spicy and over 3.5 cards pays 8/11 at Bet365. There's more value in backing certain players to go into the book and combative Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin is 11/5 in that market.
For a long-odds option, Hearts have been a huge threat from set-pieces so it could pay to back one of their defenders to score a header. Stuart Findaly is 10/1 at Bet365 to net with his head and Halkett is 14/1 in the same market.
GambleAware