Wilfried Nancy will take charge of his first game as Celtic manager when the Hoops play host to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts on Sunday afternoon.

After a lengthy process, the Frenchman was finally named as the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers earlier this week. Nancy will usher in a new era at Parkhead with a huge top-of-the-table showdown with Hearts this weekend.

Derek McInnes’ side were flying high in the Scottish Premiership, but a recent wobble has seen Celtic move level on points with the capital club at the summit.

There are hundreds of Football Tips available on ABC this weekend, while you can also view the latest Celtic v Hearts Betting Stats ahead of kick-off.

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📂 Celtic v Hearts Cheat Sheet

📈 Celtic v Hearts Form & Tactics

Martin O’Neill made a mighty impressive impact as interim Celtic manager by posting seven wins across his eight matches in charge, most notably overseeing victories against Rangers and Feyenoord. The Celtic legend has also managed to wipe out an eight-point deficit on Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, with the pair now level on points ahead of Sunday’s clash at Parkhead.

Celtic boast the best defensive record in the Scottish Premiership this season, conceding just nine goals across their opening 14 league games of the campaign, with seven of their 10 victories being accompanied by a clean sheet.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Bhoys have scored multiple goals in just seven of their 14 Scottish Premiership matches this season, with each of their last 3 top-flight victories arriving via a one-goal margin.

Celtic have not conceded two goals or more in a Scottish Premiership match since losing 3-1 to Hearts in this season’s reverse fixture.

Hearts enjoyed a flying start to the season, topping the table with an eight-point lead after claiming a 3-1 win over Celtic at the tail end of October. However, Derek McInnes’ men have faltered badly since then, winning just one of their subsequent six Scottish Premiership fixtures. As a consequence, Hearts' grip at the summit has loosened, and a second league defeat of the season on Sunday would see them surrender top spot to their hosts.

While no team has hit more goals than Hearts (30) in this season’s Scottish Premiership, the capital club have scored one goal or fewer in each of their last four top-flight fixtures.

Hearts have drawn a sizeable average of 2.47 bookings per game from their Scottish Premiership opponents this season, with each of the last six teams that they have faced collecting two cards or more.

📔 Celtic v Hearts Formation & Team News

While Wilfried Nancy was well known for favouring a 3-4-1-2 formation during his time in charge of Columbus Crew, he is expected to keep any changes to a minimum until he has his feet under the table at Parkhead. Therefore, Celtic are expected to line up in the same 4-3-3 system that Martin O’Neill has made use of to great effect in recent months.

New Celtic boss Nancy will be unable to call upon the services of injured quartet Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Jota, while Kelechi Iheanacho is rated as doubtful due to a hamstring issue. Having started each of Celtic’s last two matches on the bench, Kieran Tierney could be drafted back into the starting XI on Sunday.

Derek McInnes tends to set his Hearts team up in a rigid 4-4-2 formation, though it can resemble a 4-4-1-1 depending on the game state and the opposition.

Injured midfielder Beni Bangingime has returned to training, but Sunday's clash at Celtic Park is expected to come too soon. Calem Nieuwenhof, Eduardo Ageu, and Finlay Pollock are all still out of contention for the capital club.

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