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Hearts v Celtic Bet Builder Tips & Match Preview

Hearts v Celtic Bet Builder Tips & Match Preview

Saturday 2 March, 20244 min read
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Grant Heaney

Grant is a Glasgow-based sports betting analyst and keeps a close eye on all the goings-on in the fascinating world of Scottish football. While he has a strong passion for the SPFL, Grant is equally adept at crafting content on all of Europe’s major leagues, whether it be the Premier League or further afield. When not crunching the numbers and analysing the stats, Grant can often be found following his beloved Falkirk up and down the country.

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Hearts and Celtic will face off in a hotly-anticipated Scottish Premiership showdown at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon.

Derek McInnes’ hosts are flying high at the top of the table and come into this clash with a five point lead over the defending champions. As such, the Jam Tarts have a huge opportunity to hammer home their title credentials if they can claim top honours on Sunday.

Celtic will be hoping Thursday night’s 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in the Europa League can act as the catalyst to kick-start an upturn in form and performances.

These Hearts v Celtic Betting Stats offer further insight ahead of Sunday's clash.

These recommended Best Bet Builder Bookmakers are worth a look for Sunday's action, too.

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Over 1.5 Goals @ 1.27

I would be surprised if we don’t see a minimum of two match goals at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon. With Celtic looking fragile, table-topping Hearts will smell blood here, especially given how freely the hosts have been scoring this season.

Derek McInnes’ side have netted a league-high 19 goals in this season’s Scottish Premiership, covering the over 1.5 goal line on their own in seven of their eight outings to date. What’s more, five of those eight matches have broken the over 2.5 goal barrier, including two of the Jam Tarts’ last three home games.

As for Celtic, five of their opening eight league games of the season have generated a minimum of two match goals, a sample that includes three of their four assignments away from their Parkhead base. On top of that, each of the Hoops’ three matches in this season’s Europa League have delivered over 1.5 goals.

Over 2.5 Cards @ 1.30

This has been one of the Scottish Premiership’s most fiery fixtures in recent years, and sparks should fly again when the pair renew hostilities this weekend, given the current state of play in the table. As such, I think we can expect to see a minimum of three match cards on Sunday afternoon.

Despite Hearts currently flying high at the top of the Scottish Premiership, they have averaged just over two yellow cards per game this term. In fact, seven of the hosts’ opening eight league games of the season have yielded at least three bookings, with five yellow cards flashed during last week’s 3-0 win away at Kilmarnock.

While Celtic are historically one of the best behaved teams in the Scottish Premiership, that has not quite been the case across the opening stretch of this season. Brendan Rodgers’ side have received an average of just under two yellow cards per 90 in this season’s Scottish top-flight, picking up multiple bookings in each of their last four matches.

Claudio Braga to have 1+ Shots on Target @ 1.40

Hearts look like they have unearthed a real gem in the shape of Claudio Braga. In fact, I think it could be argued that Braga has been the best player in Scotland this season. The Hearts forward has become an instant fan favourite, posting an impressive return of eight goals and two assists across his opening 13 appearances in all competitions for the capital club.

Two of those goals were against Kilmarnock last weekend, so Braga will come into this clash brimming with confidence and rubbing his hands at the prospect of facing a Celtic defence that have looked unconvincing of late.

The 25-year-old attacker is a player who likes to try his luck in front of goal at any given opportunity, attempting two or more shots in seven of his eight Scottish Premiership appearances this season. That can be attributed to the fact that Braga has registered a minimum of one on-target effort in six of his eight outings in this season’s Scottish top-flight, including each of his last three.

With that in mind, Braga looks well worthy of support to work Kasper Schmeichel at least once during Sunday’s top of the table showdown at Tynecastle. We also benefit from SBK's Fresh Legs offering with this pick.

Over 7.5 Corners @ 1.22

Look for Sunday’s clash between Hearts and Celtic to feature over 7.5 corners. Both of these teams will be targeting three points at Tynecastle on Sunday, so there should be no shortage of goalmouth action, which should be conducive to a high corner kick count.

More importantly, both Hearts and Celtic have been strong corner performers in this season’s Scottish Premiership, with the hosts averaging just over six flag kicks per game, while the visitors’ tally is a shade north of eight per 90.

What’s more, seven of Hearts’ eight Scottish Premiership matches this season have surpassed the over 7.5 match corners line, with the Jam Tarts’ opening weekend clash with Aberdeen the only game failing to do so.

Likewise, just one of Celtic's eight top-flight tussles this term have featured fewer than eight match corners, with Brendan Rodgers’ attack-minded side covering this line on their own in four of those eight matches, including each of their last two.

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📈 Hearts v Celtic Form & Tactics

Hearts maintained their excellent start to the season with a convincing 3-0 win away at Kilmarnock last weekend. I thought last Saturday's trip to Ayrshire represented a potential banana skin, but the capital club were dominant and well worthy of their victory.

That latest success saw Hearts extend their lead at the top of the table to five points. Moreover, Derek McInnes’ side are now the only team that have yet to taste defeat in this season’s Scottish Premiership, winning seven of their opening eight games of the campaign.

The Jam Tarts are also the leading scorers in this season’s Scottish top-flight, racking up 19 goals, hitting multiple strikes in all bar one of their eight matches thus far.

Impressively, Hearts have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four Scottish Premiership matches.

Celtic claimed a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday night. It would be fair to say that Celtic have put in several abject displays in this season’s Scottish Premiership, the most recent of which saw them suffer their first league defeat of the season last weekend when crashing to a shock 2-0 loss at Dundee.

That means Brendan Rodgers’ side have now failed to win three of their last five Scottish Premiership matches, blanking in front of goal in each of those three contests.

As tends to be the case, Celtic have been earning high team corner totals this term. The Hoops have averaged just over eight flag kicks per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season, racking up 22 corners across their last two matches. It’s also worth noting that Celtic earned nine corners when coming from behind to defeat Sturm Graz on Thursday night.

📔 Hearts v Celtic Formation & Team News

After utilising a 3-5-2 formation at times during the early weeks of the season, Hearts have gone with a 4-4-2 system in recent weeks, though it can often resemble a 4-4-1-1 when Lawrence Shankland drops deep.

Hearts boss McInnes has confirmed that Finlay Pollock, Frankie Kent and Ryan Fulton will all miss out on Sunday. On a brighter note for Hearts, Christian Borchgrevink and Eduardo Ageu have returned to training, having both been on the sidelines since August.

As has been the case since the start of the season, expect Brendan Rodgers’ to stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation on Sunday.

Celtic were hit with a double injury blow on Thursday night, as both Alistair Johnston and Kelechi Iheanacho were forced off during the early stages of their Europa League win over Sturm Graz.

Talismanic forward Daizen Maeda has missed each of Celtic’s last two matches due to a hamstring injury. In his pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday night’s clash with Sturm Graz, Rodgers was coy over Maeda’s chances of playing against Hearts this weekend.

Long-term absentee Jota will definitely miss out for the visitors, with the Portuguese winger not expected to be back in contention until early 2026.

🔮 Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

Keep up with our Football Betting Tips, as well as Scottish Football Predictions for this weekend's football, on Andy's Bet Club.

We've got you covered for Sunday's action, with a Premier League Acca, Aston Villa v Man City Tips, Everton v Tottenham Tips, and Arsenal v Crystal Palace Betting Predictions.

If you're a fan of player prop bets, we also have Player Fouls Predictions, and Player Shots Tips, plus Both Teams to Score Tips and Over 2.5 Goals Tips for goals punters.

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