CELTIC VS HEARTS TIPS: 13/1 BET BUILDER FOR SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP TITLE DECIDER
Scottish football potentially stands on the precipice of a monumental shift.
Saturday lunchtime’s Celtic vs Hearts match at Parkhead is a top-of-the-table, title-deciding Premiership encounter, yes.
But it’s also a potential paradigm-breaker.
Not since Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen in 1985 has a team outside the Glasgow duopoly claimed the title.
While the likes of Derek McInnes’ mid-2010s Aberdeen sides and the 2005-06 Hearts team tried valiantly, a breaking of the status quo hasn't truly been this close in decades.
For Hearts fans of a certain vintage clinching the championship at Celtic's home would offer the ultimate catharsis, exorcising the demons of the infamous 1985-86 run-in where they stumbled away at Dundee on the final day to hand the Hoops the title on goal difference.
With only around 800 Jambos making the trip, the visitors go in one point ahead but vastly outnumbered in a Celtic Park cauldron.
Here is how we see it playing out…
CELTIC VS HEARTS: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Kick-off time: 12:30 BST
- Match date: Sat 16th May
- Venue: Parkhead, Glasgow
- Competition: Scottish Premiership
- How to watch: Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Football
- Form (last five league): CEL WWWWW / HEA WDWWW
- Match market: Click here
The case for a Celtic win @ 11/20
For the hosts, this late-season surge carries distinct echoes of their 2007-08 campaign.
Back then, they overturned Rangers’ six-point-plus-two-games-in-hand advantage by winning their final seven league fixtures to snatch the title.
Since a March defeat to Dundee United the Hoops have replicated that relentless energy, racking up six consecutive Premiership victories. One more here will once again snare the title.
They did, however, have to rely on a champion's knack for winning ugly in midweek. Despite being largely outplayed in a disjointed display against Motherwell, Celtic salvaged a 3-2 victory courtesy of a controversial last-gasp Kelechi Iheanacho penalty.
Overall, though, the return of Martin O'Neill for his two spells in the hotseat this term has been transformative.
Under his stewardship Celtic have secured an incredible 87.3% of available points – a return that leaves their title rivals trailing 13 behind him across his time in charge.
Yet the Northern Irishman knows the sheer agony of final-day shootouts all too well: his first managerial stint at the club famously featured final-day heartbreak in 2004/05, when a late defeat to Motherwell handed the title to Rangers by a single point.
That bitter memory will surely fuel his desire to ensure history doesn't repeat itself.
And Parkhead remains a fortress. Celtic boast the second-best home record in the division with 14 wins and a draw from 18 outings.
Conversely, Hearts' away form is showing cracks. Despite owning the third-best travelling record overall, they arrive in Glasgow with just one away victory across their last six road trips in a winless rut that included struggles against the division's bottom three.
Backing the reigning champions to utilise their momentum at home looks a smart play.
The case for a Hearts win @ 17/4
Simply put: the Jambos are top of the pile for a reason.
They travel to Glasgow riding the crest of a wave following a commanding 3-0 midweek demolition of Falkirk.
After surviving the early scare of a chalked-off goal, Hearts recovered brilliantly to complete an entire league campaign unbeaten at Tynecastle.
Having occupied the summit since early on in the campaign, they have consistently proven their credentials over 37 games.
Crucially, they have amassed more points in clashes against Celtic and Rangers than either of the Old Firm have managed against them or one another.
Their record against Saturday's opponents is particularly compelling: Hearts are unbeaten in three meetings with Celtic this season, winning two.
That run includes a landmark victory at Parkhead back in December, a result that ushered in Wilfried Nancy’s ill-fated tenure in the Celtic dugout.
While the odds heavily favour the hosts, the 17/4 on a Hearts victory undoubtedly represents the value angle.
They have handled the pressure almost flawlessly so far and backing them to secure a historic win to shatter a 40-year duopoly warrants serious consideration.
However, for those looking at the broader picture, it is worth remembering that the Jambos don't actually need to win to achieve immortality.
A tense, title-securing draw is all it takes to take the trophy back to Edinburgh, making that a potentially very shrewd alternative play in itself at 16/5.
BetMGM’s 13/1 Celtic vs Hearts Bet Builder
- Lawrence Shankland to score or assist
- Daizen Maeda to score or assist
- The woodwork to be hit in the game
- Over 5.5 total cards
While title deciders can often be tense, cagey affairs the data suggests goals will feature in this one.
All three meetings between these sides this term have produced at least three goals while both teams to score has landed in all of Celtic's last five matches and five of Hearts' last six, setting the stage nicely for our pair of player prop selections.
Daizen Maeda approaches this fixture as a man reborn.
After a barren spell of 17 games, the Japan international has exploded into life with seven goals and two assists in his last five appearances – including vital braces against Rangers and Falkirk.
With nine goal contributions in 14 career games against Hearts, he thrives in this specific matchup.
On the opposing side, Lawrence Shankland is back to his talismanic best.
Since returning from injury, he has grabbed four goals and an assist in six starts.
He takes penalties and also boasts a reputable record against the Hoops having netted seven times while providing one assist in 15 league encounters, including a goal and an assist in their Tynecastle triumph earlier this term.
Finally, it’s fair to expect the frame of the goal to rattle.
The woodwork has been struck in all of the last six meetings between these clubs and they are the division's two most prolific woodwork-hitters, combining for 49 strikes this term.
With Celtic's Benjamin Nygren and Hearts duo Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis ranking among the league's top five individual woodwork-rattlers, backing the post or crossbar to intervene at least once in the game is a logical addition.
To complete our 13/1 final-day Bet Builder, adding over 5.5 total cards looks a solid proposition.
A title decider of this magnitude is guaranteed to be fiery and their three meetings this term have already produced 18 yellows and a red. Both sides have been picking up bookings at a rapid rate in recent weeks – Celtic have 14 in their last four in particular – while referee Don Robertson has been particularly uncompromising of late.
Across his last five top-level matches, Robertson has dished out 29 yellows – an average of 5.8 per game – as well as three reds. With three of those recent, card-heavy fixtures involving either Celtic or Hearts, it’s fair to expect a very busy afternoon for the officials.
BETMGM’S 13/1 CELTIC VS HEARTS BET BUILDER
- Lawrence Shankland to score or assist
- Daizen Maeda to score or assist
- The woodwork to be hit in the game
- Over 5.5 total cards
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
