Celtic travel to Tynecastle Park on Sunday afternoon as Hearts look to maintain their title-challenging form against the Hoops.
The hosts currently sit top of the Scottish Premiership with 50 points from 22 matches, holding a six-point advantage over Celtic, who occupy second place.
Hearts vs Celtic – Match preview and team news
- Date: Saturday, 24th January.
- Kick-off: 3pm BST.
- Venue: Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh.
Hearts team news
Lawrence Shankland, who suffered a hamstring injury during the Scottish Cup defeat to Falkirk last weekend, has been ruled out for six to eight weeks. The Scotland striker leads the Premiership scoring charts with 11 league goals this season across 21 matches.
Midfielder Cammy Devlin is also unavailable with a similar leg injury for the same duration. At the same time, Beni Baningime is suspended following a recent red card, forcing Derek McInnes to manage his resources carefully. There is more encouraging news regarding Eduardo Ageu and Oisin McEntee, who are both expected to return to full training on Friday and could feature. However, McEntee has been absent for three weeks.
Stephen Kingsley remains sidelined with a groin injury. However, forward Claudio Braga has stepped up to the plate in Shankland’s absence, carrying the goal-scoring burden with nine league goals already this season.
Celtic team news
Celtic have made their first January addition with the arrival of Julian Araujo on loan from Bournemouth for the remainder of the season.
The Mexican defender, who can operate as a right-back or wing-back, has already made three appearances for the club and brings Premier League experience to the squad. The club have also seen Hayato Inamura depart on loan to FC Tokyo.
Celtic will be without several key players. Jota, Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Callum Osmand, Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi are all sidelined.
Form
Hearts
Derek McInnes’ side has ended recent cup competitions with disappointment, losing to Falkirk in the Scottish Cup on penalties and falling to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup, but their league form has remained consistently impressive.
Hearts are undefeated at home in the Scottish Premiership this season, amassing an outstanding 27 points from 11 Tynecastle matches—the strongest home record in the league.
McInnes has insisted his side’s form is “something substantial” rather than a temporary purple patch, emphasising their four-month spell at the top of the table and their consistency against major opponents.
Celtic
After the disappointing spell under Wilfried Nancy—which saw six defeats in eight matches—Celtic have dramatically improved under Martin O’Neill’s return on January 4.
The interim manager has overseen an impressive unbeaten run of three wins and a draw, including victories against Falkirk (2-0), Dundee United (2-0), and Auchinleck Talbot (2-0) in the Scottish Cup, alongside a hard-fought 2-2 Europa League draw against Bologna whilst playing with 10 men.
O’Neill has visibly restored confidence and belief within the squad, with players responding to his straightforward, experienced approach.
Predicted lineups
Hearts: Schwolow; Steinwender, Halkett, Findlay, Milne; Altena, Spittal, Magnusson, Kyziridis; Braga, Kabore
Celtic: Schmeichel; Araujo, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; Engels, McGregor; Hyun-Jun, Hatate, Tounekti; Maeda
How to watch Hearts vs Celtic?
In the UK, Hearts vs Celtic is live on Sky Sports Football. Celtic TV is also streaming the match live for subscribers, including UK-based Celtic TV “Live” package holders.
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