Sunday 2nd December 1200hrs Hearts v Rangers Football – Scotland – Scottish Premiership With Celtic engaged in the League Cup final on Sunday it’s left to second and third to battle it out for Scottish Premiership points on the same day. A win for the visitors would see them go top of the table which would be a big achievement for them whilst their hosts will just be looking to get any sort of a result and stop a run of three straight defeats in the league. It’s usually a feisty affair when these meet and Sunday should be no different – continue reading for a match preview of Hearts against Rangers with a best betting tip selection.
A month ago it was looking like this could be an extremely productive season for Craig Levein and his Hearts team who had started the season in excellent form. They were sitting top of the table and were going into the League Cup semi final against Celtic with a confidence where they genuinely thought they could get the better of Brendan Rodgers men – much of that confidence coming from the fact they had defeated the champions earlier in the season. It proved to be a step too far however and since losing that match 3-0 it’s been nothing but a disappointment. The Tynecastle club come into Sunday’s game without a win in their last five and failing to score a single goal in that time. Granted, they have had to endure a number of injuries to ley players, particularly in the forward area and it’s left them lightweight up top. That said, it’s been a concerning slump in form and their only consolation is they remain third. A win for Hearts against Rangers would see them go back second and level on points with Celtic at the top. But at this moment in time that’s looking a big ask.
There should be no more motivation needed for Rangers this weekend other than knowing a win would see them go top of the top league in Scotland at this time of year for the first time since 2011. It’s testament to how well Steven Gerrard has done since arriving at the club in the summer and he will be well aware of the psychological importance of winning this match. It will be challenging, though, especially on the back of a tough match in Europe at home to Villareal on Thursday, playing most of the game with 10 men. How much that game has taken out of them remains to be seen. Their form away from home in Scotland has also been a concern, looking vulnerable on more than one occasion. They have managed only two wins from their six away games in the league and both of those victories have came against two of the bottom three clubs. It doesn’t inspire huge amounts of confidence but they will travel to the capital this weekend feeling that they will have no better opportunity to turn their fortunes around on the road.
Hearts v Rangers Betting Tip
Hearts visited Ibrox earlier in the season whilst at the top of the league and with a full complement of players but they were undone as is so often the case when they travel to Glasgow to play either Celtic or Rangers. It’s a different story when they play at home though and they almost always give both Glasgow clubs a game when they come to Tynecastle. That’s exactly what Levein will be demanding from his players this weekend and especially on the back of an extremely disappointing result and performance away to St Mirren last Saturday. For Rangers it will be all about recovery between their match on Thursday and this one. Gerrard doesn’t have a huge amount of options of his own either so it will be the majority of the same players once again as they look to make their way to the top of the table.
This will be the first time that Hearts have hosted Rangers at Tynecastle for nearly two years due to their only home match against them last season taking place at Murrayfield. There’s no doubt that their compact home ground is an advantage to them and Rangers will have to try and combat that which is easier said than done considering their own fragility on the road. The travelling support will be counting on their team being top of the table come full time on Sunday but I think they may be disappointed and will have to settle for a draw.
Selection: Draw 59/20 @ Marathon Bet
