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Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 4
Aug 21, 2022 at 3pm UK
Celtic Park
HL
Celtic
2 - 0
Hearts
Furuhashi (13'), Giakoumakis (90+4')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Boyce (25'), Mackay-Steven (43'), Sibbick (55'), Cochrane (62'), Shankland (83')
Cochrane (89'), Sibbick (90+1')

Preview: Celtic vs. Hearts - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Celtic vs. Hearts - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash between Celtic and Hearts, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Defending Scottish Premiership champions Celtic will be looking to continue their perfect start to the 2022-23 campaign on Sunday when they host Hearts.

The visitors are also undefeated in their opening three matches, although one of those games featured a draw, but they will be hoping for an immediate response from their midweek defeat in Europe.


Match preview

Celtic Park has become a fortress in recent times for Ange Postecoglou's team after they were undefeated at home in the league last season, which is a record they continued on the opening day of this season against Aberdeen.

That 2-0 win extended their impressive run at home, which is something the squad will once again be hoping to push when they face Hearts as the Hoops aim to continue sitting top of the league.

Celtic followed the game against the Dons by defeating Ross County, and their most recent performance was the most impressive of the lot as they defeated Kilmarnock 5-0.

One of the biggest takeaways from that game was the fact that all five goals were scored by different people, showcasing the attacking qualities that the squad has across the pitch.

Right now only goal difference separates Celtic and Rangers, and that is something that they will be aiming to either maintain or improve upon in what is going to be their toughest test of the season so far.

Hearts have made an undefeated start to their SPL campaign this season with two victories and a draw, showcasing that once again they are prepared to push the Old Firm rivals.

While the Jam Tarts have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, they have scored seven goals across those matches, proving the attacking qualities that they have at their disposal as well.

The most recent fixture they played in the league was their strongest to date as Hearts defeated Dundee United 4-1, starting the game with a goal in the first minute from Lawrence Shankland as they continued attacking until the end, with the fourth being scored in the 95th minute.

Unfortunately for Robbie Neilson, his men were unable to replicate that form in midweek when they faced FC Zurich in their Europa League play-off first leg match.

Even though Shankland put his team in the lead via the penalty spot, Hearts were ultimately beaten 2-1, which is a result they will now be looking to put behind them.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:
  • W
  • W
  • W

Celtic form (all competitions):
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Hearts Scottish Premiership form:
  • W
  • D
  • W

Hearts form (all competitions):
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • L


Team News

Postecoglou has named the exact same starting lineup for his previous two matches, and considering the results have been so positive it is unlikely that he is planning to tweak that here.

The only major decision he will have is in the attack as he has to decide who starts upfront between Giorgos Giakoumakis and Kyogo Furuhashi, which is not a simple one considering they both scored last weekend.

Shankland has proven himself to be a major attacking threat for the visitors so far this season, and his form in front of goal will no doubt provide a test for the Hoops defenders on Sunday.

Alex Cochrane and Craig Halkett were both injured in the most recent SPL match, but they were fit enough to feature in midweek even though the latter did not make it through the entire 90 minutes.

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Jenz, Taylor; Turnbull, McGregor, O'Riley; Jota, Maeda, Furuhashi

Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Atkinson, Halkett, Kingsley, Rowles, Cochrane; Grant, Haring, Devlin; McKay, Shankland


We say: Celtic 2-0 Hearts

Hearts will be sure to provide a tough test for Celtic due to the attacking qualities they have, and so far this season their performances have been impressive.

However, the Hoops are operating at an extremely high level right now having taken the momentum from last season into the new campaign, which is why they should have enough quality to edge this one.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data

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Read more about Ange Postecoglou Giorgos Giakoumakis Kyogo Furuhashi Lawrence Shankland Craig Halkett Alex Cochrane Robbie Neilson Football
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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic87101951422
2RangersRangers96031751218
3St Mirren84311110115
4Hearts832375211
5Kilmarnock92431112-110
6Motherwell831479-210
7Livingston9243915-610
8Aberdeen8233101009
9Hibernian92341316-39
10Dundee7142710-37
11Ross County7214612-67
12St Johnstone8044311-84
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