CELTIC return from the international break with traditionally one of their tougher challenges – an away day at Hearts.
This game has been scheduled unusually for a Saturday night which should add to an already-heated atmosphere, as the Hoops try to maintain their unbeaten record and Hearts try to climb away from trouble.
The champions have been matched stride for stride this season in the league anyway by Aberdeen, who play earlier in the afternoon. They were given a real fright on their last game before the break when they were handed a stern test by Kilmarnock.
Previous to that of course, they produced arguably their best European performance for many years when they ragdolled RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Hearts have steadied the ship under Neil Critchley and were close to taking a point from Ibrox in their last league game against Rangers.
But they are still very much a work in progress and have problems scoring goals – with the prime cause being the dearth of goals from captain and last season's talisman Lawrence Shankland, who cannot buy a goal, as his one in 18 games strike rate this season has shown.
How the bookies view it: Celtic to win at a canter?
Celtic are 2/5 favourites to get some Saturday night success with William Hill.
Hearts can be backed at 7/1 with the same firm, while the draw is 17/4 with Ladbrokes.
Recent head to heads: Tynecastle trouble for Celtic
Celtic crashed to a 2-0 defeat here last season although their cause was hardly helped when they were reduced to ten men. They strolled to a win by the same scoreline when Hearts visited Parkhead in August and Celtic had won their previous four visits to Gorgie.
Players to watch: Punters Kuhn be quids in
It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Kenneth Vargas receives after announcing he wants to leave Hearts while criticising Scottish football in his native Costa Rica before claiming it was taken out of context. He is 4/1 to score with Betfred.
Nicolas Kuhn has been a revelation this season for Celtic and is already on double figures for the season including four goals in his last three games. He is 15/8 to score anytime with bet365.
Predicted line-ups:
Hearts are set to be without Yutaro Oda and Calem Nieuwenhof.
Celtic have a clean bill of health with Cameron Carter-Vickers fit again.
Hearts: Gordon, Oyegoke, Kent, Rowles, Penrice, Devlin, Boateng, Spittal, Forrest, Shankland, Vargas.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Kuhn, Maeda, Kyogo.
Anything else catch the eye?
Hearts have probably got their best hope of taking something from Celtic here with several of their players away on long-distance international breaks, but the strength in depth of Brendan Rodgers' squad looks too much for the hosts.
And with Hearts' well-documented problems in scoring, the value call here is a Celtic win to nil at a decent 31/20 with 10bet.
It's rare these days to get Celtic at odds-against to win half time and full time, but they will want to quiet down a passionate Saturday night home crowd early, so back them to come roaring out of the traps and win this HT/FT at 11/10 with Boylesports.
This Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic will be played on Nov 23, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Hearts vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
