THE standout fixture from the latest set of Scottish Premiership fixtures takes place at Tynecastle on Wednesday night, as Heart of Midlothian play host to Rangers.
Both of these sides have been going great guns in recent months, with the Jambos unbeaten in 10, while the Light Blues have yet to taste defeat in 10 outings under Michael Beale’s tutorship.
While Hearts have been ticking along nicely since the World Cup break, they will be keen to get back in the winning groove following Sunday’s uninspiring 0-0 draw at Livingston.
Despite that stalemate, Robbie Neilson’s side remain in a commanding position to finish best of the rest, although they will be keen to tighten their grip on third spot when Rangers come to town.
The Ibrox side made it nine wins from 10 under new boss Michael Beale with a 2-0 win over St Johnstone on Saturday, on an afternoon where my Bet Builder copped.
In doing so, Rangers remain nine points adrift of table topping Celtic, and anything less than three points here could prove to be fatal as they try and reel in their Old Firm rivals.
Outright Betting
Hearts, who have failed to take points off either half of the Old Firm in four attempts already this season, head into this game as 5/1 (Ladbrokes) underdogs while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 10/3 (Bet 365).
Rangers boast a 100% away record since Michael Beale took the reins and the bookies’ odds suggest that sequence will continue here, with an away win chalked up at 4/7 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
I suspect this clash could be closer than the odds suggest, however I’m going to bypass the match result outcome and instead highlight an alternative offering in the team corners market
We can get some 4/5 with Beet 365 on Hearts to hit a minimum of four corner kicks during this dust-up and that holds appeal.
Admittedly, the hosts have been standard-frequency flag kick performers in the Scottish Premiership this season, posting an average of 4.86 per-game thus far.
That being said, Robbie Neilson’s side have covered the 4+ flag kick line in nine of their last 11 top-flight outings, and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here on a night where they will be roared on by a passionate home crowd.
While Rangers will look to dictate the tempo of the game in Gorgie, they have conceded three corners in recent matches with lesser flights Kilmarnock and St Johnstone, not to mention seven against Motherwell, so high-flying Hearts hitting four here looks feasible.
It's also worth pointing out that the capital club clocked up five corners when they took on Rangers at Tynecastle back in October before hitting the same figure at Ibrox the following month, all of which adds to the appeal of supporting the same 4/5 (Bet 365) wager on Wednesday night.
With Rangers expected to contribute to the corner count as well here, coupled with the fact that their matches are generating 10.57 corners per-game in the Scottish Premiership this season, I’ll also take the 9/10 (Bet 365) on over 10 Asian Corners.
This bet would yield profit in the event of 11+ match corners, with stakes returned if this fixture features exactly 10 flag kicks, and that looks worthy of interest in what promises to be an action-packed encounter.
This Scottish Premiership match between Heart of Midlothian and Rangers will be played on Feb 1, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Heart of Midlothian vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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