Celtic, looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season, are set to travel to Tynecastle Park to face relegation-threatened Hearts on Saturday.
The visitors are top of the league with 31 points from 11 matches, while the visitors are in 11th place, having taken just nine points from their first 13 outings.
Match preview
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Celtic entered the 2024/25 season aiming for their fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title and their 13th in the last 14 years, with their only recent miss coming in the 2020/21 season when Rangers claimed the title unbeaten.
Brendan Rodgers's side have made an ideal start in pursuit of their goal, sitting atop the Scottish Premiership table with 31 points, level with Aberdeen but leading on goal difference, remaining unbeaten in 11 matches with 10 wins and one draw.
Celtic have mirrored their impressive league form across all competitions this season, securing a spot in the Scottish League Cup final with wins over Hibernian, Falkirk, and Aberdeen, while also performing strongly in the Champions League with two wins, one draw, and just one loss.
That defeat came in their 10th outing of the season, a humiliating 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund, but Rodgers's side have responded impressively, going unbeaten in their eight matches since with six wins and two draws, leaving that as their only loss of the campaign so far.
Heading into this one on the back of five consecutive wins across all competitions, including a remarkable 6-0 win against Aberdeen and 3-1 victory against RB Leipzig, Celtic will look to continue that streak and unbeaten start to the campaign with another win here.
The Bhoys will undoubtedly be the favourites heading into the match, with the hosts having secured nine points from their opening 13 league fixtures, with two wins, three draws and eight defeats.
That marks a miserable start to the season given the Jambos have finished inside the top four in each of the last three years, third in 2021-22 and 2023-24 and fourth in 2022-23.
After drawing with Rangers on the opening day of the term, Hearts subsequently lost their next eight matches, leading to the dismissal of former manager Steven Naismith.
Liam Fox took over on an interim basis and immediately uplifted the team, achieving a win, a draw, and a loss in his three games, before Neil Critchley was appointed as the permanent manager.
Critchley has guided the Jambos to three wins, one draw and three defeats in his three matches in charge, though they have lost each of their last two matches, a losing streak he will be ambitiously hoping to end with a shock win against Celtic.
Team News
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The hosts will be without the services of Calem Nieuwenhof, Gerald Taylor and Yutaro Oda for this match due to ongoing injury issues, with all three not likely to return until at least December.
Despite falling to defeat against Rangers last time out, Critchley could be encouraged by aspects of their performance against a much stronger side, given his team lost just 1-0, meaning he could name a similar side here.
As for the visitors, Odin Thiago Holm is set to be the only absentee for Rodgers to contend with, meaning the manager has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
With an important Champions League fixture against Club Brugge in midweek, Rodgers may opt to field a rotated team in this game, meaning Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, who has netted in each of his last three appearances, could be benched for James Forrest.
Adam Idah could also lead the line for the Bhoys, while Alex Valle and Paulo Bernardo could also be in line to start against Hearts.
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Oyegoke, Kent, Rowles, Penrice; Forrest, Boateng, Devlin, Spittal; Shankland, Vargas
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle; Engels, McGregor, Bernardo; Forrest, Idah, Maeda
We say: Hearts 0-3 Celtic
Hearts may have been improved since the appointment of Critchley, but Celtic are undoubtedly the stronger side heading into this game, and we expect the visitors to comfortably win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
