HEARTS VS RANGERS TIPS: 7/1 BET BUILDER & OUR VALUE PLAY
The Scottish Premiership serves up a bank holiday blockbuster as Hearts welcome Rangers to the capital in a clash that pits the league’s best home side against its most effective travellers.
While Derek McInnes and Danny Rohl’s sides have traded blows at the summit for most of the season, Monday evening’s showdown at Tynecastle (17:30) feels like a definitive fork in the road for one of them.
Hearts are currently the most formidable home team in the Premiership, amassing 43 points from a possible 51 and remaining unbeaten in Gorgie all season.
Conversely, Rangers arrive with the division’s best away record but with a curious habit of avoiding defeat yet sharing the spoils.
They did neither last time out, going two goals down to Motherwell at Ibrox before ultimately losing 3-2 to slide to third in the table.
The Jambos also went behind – in the Edinburgh Derby against Hibs at Easter Road – but two Hibees red cards and a dominant second-half performance saw McInnes’s men triumph 2-1 to stay top of the pile.
Here’s how we see the action unfolding under the lights in Edinburgh…
HEARTS VS RANGERS: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Kick-off time: 17:30 BST
- Match date: Mon 4th May
- Venue: Tynecastle, Edinburgh
- Competition: Scottish Premiership
- How to watch: Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Football
- Form (last five league): HEA WWDWL / RAN LWWWW
- Match market: Click here
BETMGM’S 7/1 HEARTS VS RANGERS BET BUILDER
- Hearts/draw double chance
- Over 9.5 total corners
- Chermiti & Braga 1+ shot on target each
- Over 8.5 total shots on target
Hearts/draw double chance: Hearts are very capable of at least avoiding defeat in this one.
The Jambos are unbeaten in all 17 league games so far this season, winning 13 and securing six clean sheets in their last nine outings at Tynecastle.
Rangers, for all their overall strength, have still drawn seven away matches in the league this term and managed to take all three points on only two of their last five trips to this corner of Edinburgh.
McInnes’s men have also accumulated more points against Rangers and Celtic than either Glasgow giant has managed to take from their fellow title challengers.
And it’s not even close: Hearts have won 13 points against Rangers and Celtic, Rangers eight from the Hoops and Hearts and Celtic just three from the Jambos and Rangers.
Over 9.5 total corners: A high corner count also looks a solid proposition. The three head-to-heads this season have averaged a remarkable 12.3 corners per game.
With both teams ranking in the top three for shots per 90 minutes, goalmouth action seems assured.
Chermiti & Braga 1+ shot on target each: Youssef Chermiti has been a persistent thorn in the side of the Jambos' backline with four goals in just two starts against the hosts this season.
Averaging 1.3 shots on target per match and with Premiership Player of the Year consideration on the cards, Hearts forward Claudio Braga is leading Lawrence Shankland in the club scoring charts and will be at the core of much of the Gorgie side’s attacking play.
Backing both to test the opposition keeper at least once warrants serious consideration.
Over 8.5 total shots on target: An average of 10.25 shots have found the target across the last four meetings between the sides.
With Rangers leading the league with 6.36 shots on target per game this term and Hearts contributing 5.27, a combined line of nine feels like a manageable estimate for two sides that will surely go at it hammer and tong.
BETMGM’S 7/1 HEARTS VS RANGERS BET BUILDER
- Hearts/draw double chance
- Over 9.5 total corners
- Chermiti & Braga 1+ shot on target each
- Over 8.5 total shots on target
BETMGM’S VALUE TIP: HEARTS TO BE LEADING AT HALF-TIME @ 11/5
For those seeking a single at a more attractive price, backing Hearts to be winning at the interval represents solid value at 11/5.
If there is a crack in the Rangers armour, it is perhaps their tendency to experience sluggish starts on the road.
The Light Blues have been trailing at the break in five separate away fixtures this season – a stark contrast to their overall league standing.
Hearts have been formidable from the first whistle at Tynecastle this season, trailing at half-time on only two occasions.
Their defensive record of just 10 goals conceded at home further underscores how difficult they are to break down early.
Given Hearts have already beaten Rangers twice this season and McInnes has found a working formula against the Ibrox men recently – he has won three of the last six against them after a run of two in 17 – it’s fair to expect his side to fly out of the traps and unsettle a Rangers team that often takes 45 minutes to find its away-day rhythm.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
