Tuesday 30th January 2018 Kick off 1945hrs Celtic v Hearts Football – Scotland – Scottish Premiership It was little over a month ago when Hearts ended Celtic’s record breaking domestic unbeaten run, and in some style too as they romped to a 4-0 win at Tynecastle. It was the first time a Scottish team had beaten a Celtic team managed by Brendan Rodgers and there’s no doubt it would have hurt the Celtic manager. Rodgers and his players have the perfect opportunity to get some revenge as Hearts travel to the East End of Glasgow on Tuesday on an unbeaten run of their own that stands at 12 – will they make that 13?!
Celtic recorded another three points on Saturday as they edged past Hibs at home but it was not convincing and came at some cost with injuries to Leigh Griffiths and Craig Gordon – both of whom will be missing for some time and would have relished the chance to be playing against Hearts. It may lead to Rodgers doing even more business in the transfer market over the next couple of days, in addition to the impressive loan capture of Charly Musonda who could go into the squad if the paperwork is complete in time. He would certainly add attacking potency and craft to the squad and both have been lacking for much of the season with injuries to Tom Rogic and Patrick Roberts. Musonda was one of the most coveted players of this transfer window so it should at least give the club a boost to have secured his signing for the next 18 months on loan. One man looking to benefit from his inclusion would be Moussa Dembele who has been the subject of transfer speculation of his own but is completely out of form at the moment. Due to Griffiths injury it’s likely Demeble will lead the line on Tuesday.
Craig Levein was not everybody’s choice as manager when Ian Cathro was sacked but he was the owner’s choice and assumed the role having been the Director of Football. It has been a slow transformation and the style of football is not to everybody’s liking but it is proving very effective just now. The 12 game unbeaten run has seen them win five of them which gives you an impression of how they have achieved that, and to emphasise that further Hearts have kept nine clean sheets in that spell, including eight straight before eventually conceding in the latter stages of their home clash with Motherwell on Saturday. It would have been a frustrating result for Hearts as it means they failed to make as much ground on rivals Hibs as they could, and probably should, have. They remain four points behind Hibs but having knocked them out the Scottish Cup 10 days ago they will not be overly bothered by that just yet. They’ll travel to Celtic Park full of confidence having defeated the same opponent in mid December and even though they are on their travels this time, they know how to frustrate opponents and will again be hard to break down.
Celtic v Hearts Betting Tip
Games between these two this season have produced nine goals but there is plenty to suggest we may see fewer on Tuesday. Celtic are nowhere near their best, especially going forward, whilst Hearts – although in good form – do not score many themselves. It’s ironic that Hearts’ biggest win was against Celtic who have the best defensive record in the league. Levein earned a host of plaudits for how he set his team up in that 4-0 success with a high press of the Champions and putting the central defenders under pressure. It would be a brave approach to adopt away from home, though, but due to how successful it was they may so similar. Kyle Lafferty is hoping to return from injury and if he does it would mean a first chance to link up with former Rangers teammate Steven Naismith who joined earlier this month – they can expect a warm reception from the home support!
Celtic are having to contend with a number of injuries of their own and they all seem to be involving their attacking players. That may pave the way for Musonda to start and although he will bring undoubted quality, I envisage this being a game where defences are on top and goals may be at a premium. Hearts have conceded only 12 goals in their 12 away games and Celtic only seven in the same number of home games. It suggests under 2.5 goals is the way to go here.
Under 2.5 goals 33/25 @ Marathon Bet
