I think Hearts can score at least once against Celtic on Sunday.

The Jambos are a much more attack-minded outfit this season under new manager Wouter Vrancken, underlined by the fact they are currently the Scottish Premiership’s top scorers and have made the net bulge in each of their eight league matches.

Their European numbers offer further encouragement. 

Hearts scored in both legs of their Europa League qualifier against Benfica, drew 2-2 in both meetings with Rapid Vienna and played out a 1-1 draw with Nordsjaelland on Thursday night.  

While Celtic kept a clean sheet away at Motherwell last weekend, they have failed to do so in three of their last four home matches across all competitions.

That includes conceding at Parkhead to a Falkirk side struggling near the bottom of the table. 

What’s more, Celtic were soundly beaten 4-1 away to Benfica on Thursday night, while Hearts played at home, so the Jambos should come into this clash slightly fresher.

I’m fully expecting Hearts to try and take the game to Celtic, and I think four or more corners for the visitors is well within range.

The proactive approach Hearts have adopted under new boss Vrancken has coincided with an increase in the volume of corners they have earned this season.

The numbers back that up, with the Jambos averaging a sizeable 7.38 corners per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, while they forced 6 flag kicks against Nordsjaelland on Thursday night.

A closer look shows that Hearts have won at least 4 corners in each of their opening eight league games of the season.

Celtic are also strong in the corner department, but Rangers, Aberdeen and Dundee have all cleared the over 3.5 corner hurdle on their respective visits to Parkhead this season, further strengthening the case for Hearts to follow suit on Sunday.

Josh McPake has been one of the standout players during the early stages of the Scottish Premiership season, and I’m keen to back him to attempt two or more shots at Celtic Park on Sunday.

The newly capped Scotland international is usually deployed on the left wing, where he poses a threat both in front of goal and as a creator.

McPake likes to cut inside and get shots away, averaging an eye-catching 2.91 efforts per game across 7 Scottish Premiership appearances for Hearts this season. 

He has attempted at least 2 shots in each of his last 5 top-flight outings, including 6 against St Mirren last weekend.

What’s more, the Hearts ace fired off 5 shots against Nordsjaelland on Thursday night.

Celtic have looked shaky at the back all season, and I think their attack-minded approach could leave McPake with space to do damage.

The Celtic defender is always a threat from set-piece situations, and his shot numbers support that, with Scales averaging 1.34 shots per game across just six Scottish Premiership appearances this season.

A deeper dive into the numbers shows that the Irishman has registered multiple efforts in three of his last four top-flight outings, including 2 against Rangers in Celtic’s most recent home game.

He also got a shot away for the Republic of Ireland in their recent 1-1 Nations League draw at home to Israel.

Celtic will look to take the game to Hearts on Sunday, and their tendency to win plenty of corners at home should give Scales ample opportunity to try his luck again. 

I really don’t trust Celtic at the moment.

They may be top of the league in the Scottish Premiership, but that ranking is a tad deceiving when looking at their current form. Celtic have only managed to win one of their last five matches, losing the other four, most recently conceding four goals against Benfica in the Europa League.

Hearts also had a European assignment ahead of this clash as they drew 1-1 with Nordsjaelland in front of their own fans. They’ve scored in each of their last 15 matches, which lines up well with the fact that Celtic have kept just one shutout in their last five matches across all competitions.

Hearts and Celtic faced off four times last season, with Hearts managing to get on the scoresheet in all four games. They also became one of the few sides to actually win at Celtic Park over recent seasons with a 2-1 win over Celtic back in December last year.

Elland Road is one of the toughest places to visit in the Premier League. Leeds have the quality and ferocious home support to make this an awkward task for United, who have failed to win any of their last five matches across all competitions.

Most recently, United fell to a 2-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Carrick tried a new shape in that game, lining United up in a 4-3-3 but their press was all over the place and Atletico managed to break the deadlock inside one minute - which set the tone for the rest of the game.

Leeds also put in a pretty good account of themselves against the reigning champions away from home last time out - managing five shots on target at the Emirates, which is not a shot volume that Arteta’s side concede regularly.

Leeds avoided defeat against United in both head to head meetings between the sides last season, with this fixture finishing 1-1 thanks to a swift equaliser by Cunha after Aaronsen had opened the scoring a few minutes prior. 

I really don’t trust Celtic at the moment.

They may be top of the league in the Scottish Premiership, but that ranking is a tad deceiving when looking at their current form. Celtic have only managed to win one of their last five matches, losing the other four, most recently conceding four goals against Benfica in the Europa League.

Hearts also had a European assignment ahead of this clash as they drew 1-1 with Nordsjaelland in front of their own fans. They’ve scored in each of their last 15 matches, which lines up well with the fact that Celtic have kept just one shutout in their last five matches across all competitions.

Hearts and Celtic faced off four times last season, with Hearts managing to get on the scoresheet in all four games. They also became one of the few sides to actually win at Celtic Park over recent seasons with a 2-1 win over Celtic back in December last year.

I’ve been really impressed with Fabian Hurzeler’s side so far this season, they sit third in the Premier League - behind only Arsenal and Manchester City - having won four of their opening six games and notably scoring 18 goals in the process.

No side has scored more goals in the Premier League than Brighton this season, with the Seagulls scoring eight of these goals across their three home games. They’ve won two of these matches, including beating Arsenal at the Amex just before the international break.

Hurzeler had the luxury of rotating more extremely for Brighton’s midweek Conference League clash, but Sage had to field a pretty similar lineup to the one that started in Lyon - where Palace lost 3-2. 

That lack of squad depth could be the point of difference between these sides, with Brighton looking really strong at home and Palace conceding 12 goals across their opening six matches of the Premier League season. 

Elland Road is one of the toughest places to visit in the Premier League. Leeds have the quality and ferocious home support to make this an awkward task for United, who have failed to win any of their last five matches across all competitions.

Most recently, United fell to a 2-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Carrick tried a new shape in that game, lining United up in a 4-3-3 but their press was all over the place and Atletico managed to break the deadlock inside one minute - which set the tone for the rest of the game.

Leeds also put in a pretty good account of themselves against the reigning champions away from home last time out - managing five shots on target at the Emirates, which is not a shot volume that Arteta’s side concede regularly.

Leeds avoided defeat against United in both head to head meetings between the sides last season, with this fixture finishing 1-1 thanks to a swift equaliser by Cunha after Aaronsen had opened the scoring a few minutes prior. 

Real Madrid made tough work of their trip to Rome during the week in the Champions League, eventually coming away 4-3 winners due to a few errors by Roma’s stand in keeper - but they were 3-1 down at one stage of that game.

Mourinho’s men have put in some solid performances so far, especially in front of their own fans in LaLiga where they’ve won all four games at the Bernabeu by an aggregate scoreline of 13-2. This represents an important game for Real Madrid too, they’re already six points behind Barcelona in the LaLiga title race and can’t afford for that gap to get any bigger.

Sevilla are yet to lose on the road in LaLiga, but have lost each of their last three games ahead of this clash - including conceding three goals and an xG of 1.82 to Levante in their most recent assignment, which highlights the vulnerabilities that Madrid can look to expose here.