Celtic vs Hearts predictions, team news, betting tips, odds and Bet Builder

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Celtic vs Hearts kick-off, date & TV info 

Date Saturday, May 16
Kick-off 12.30pm
Venue Celtic Park, Glasgow
Competition William Hill Scottish Premiership
TV Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event

Celtic meet Hearts in a final-day title decider in the William Hill Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park today.

Hearts have a one-point lead over 55-time champions Celtic so Derek McInnes's men must avoid defeat if they are to win the league for the first time since 1960.

Celtic vs Hearts betting tips & predictions

Best bet

Celtic to win & both teams to score
2pts 19-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Best player bet

Hyun-Jun Yang to score at any time
5-2 bet365

Longshot

Liam Scales to be shown first card
17-2 bet365

Celtic vs Hearts preview 

The William Hill Scottish Premiership ante-post market had Celtic as 4-11 favourites and Hearts at 25-1 but the Jambos have made a mockery of those odds.

They kick off the final day of term one point ahead of champions Celtic, who have home advantage for today's colossal title decider at Celtic Park.

Rangers, 2-1 second-favourites at the start of the season, are out of the running after a four-game losing run including defeats at Hearts and Celtic.

Celtic's Old Firm triumph last weekend, which featured a stunning overhead kick from the in-form Daizen Maeda, followed a damaging 1-1 draw for Hearts at Motherwell.

On Wednesday, though, Martin O'Neill's Hoops were seconds away from dropping points at Motherwell before being awarded a hugely controversial penalty for handball.

Kelechi Iheanacho shut out the noise to convert a 99th-minute spot-kick and seal a 3-2 win for Celtic at Fir Park.

Hearts, who eased to a 3-0 home win over Falkirk the same night, must avoid defeat to clinch their first title since 1960 and they should be encouraged by this season's results against Celtic.

They won 3-1 and 2-1 in their first two meetings before January's dramatic 2-2 draw at Tynecastle, where Claudio Braga scored a late equaliser for Hearts after Celtic centre-back Auston Trusty was sent off.

Celtic have won 11 of their 14 league games since then but they have kept only two clean sheets during that run – at home to Falkirk and St Mirren.

Backing Celtic and both teams to score was a winner in five of their last six league matches and they needed extra-time to seal a 6-2 Scottish Cup semi-final victory over St Mirren last month.

Hearts have won only one of their last six away games, losing 4-2 at Rangers in February. 

Key defender Craig Halkett and influential midfielder Marc Leonard are injured and they may come up agonisingly short in their bold title bid.

Celtic star Yang can follow up Old Firm heroics

Eight of Hyun-Jun Yang's ten goals this term have come since Christmas and the Celtic midfielder clearly relishes big occasions.

He notched in two of the last three league derbies against Rangers as well as in January's draw at Hearts and he could strike a crucial blow. 

Scales likely to catch referee's eye again

All four members of Celtic's defence were booked against Rangers last weekend and centre-back Liam Scales is a tempting price to collect the first card on Saturday.

Scales has received a league-high 12 yellow cards in the Premiership this season and he may well add to his dirty dozen in the biggest game of the campaign.

Celtic vs Hearts Bet Builder

Over 2.5 goals

The last five meetings between these teams all featured over 2.5 goals and Celtic have to win in order to claim the Scottish Premiership title.

Lawrence Shankland to score at any time

The Scotland striker is finishing the campaign strongly for Hearts, scoring in six of his last nine appearances. 

Arne Engels to be shown a card

Celtic's Belgian midfielder has picked up ten bookings in all competitions this season and two of them came in his three league outings against Hearts.

Pays out at 15-2 with bet365

Key stats for Celtic vs Hearts

♦ Seven of Celtic's last nine Premiership results were wins in which both teams scored
♦ Celtic have won three of their last four home games by a 3-1 scoreline
♦ Daizen Maeda has scored seven goals in his last five appearances for the Hoops
♦ Hearts have won seven of their last ten Premiership matches
♦ Three of Hearts' five league defeats this season were by a 1-0 scoreline

Celtic vs Hearts betting odds

Sign up with William Hill to bet on today's big match. Here are the latest odds:

Odds correct at time of publishing

Want more top football betting advice? Make sure you take a look at Racing Post Sport's tips for more of the latest picks from our experts.

Celtic vs Hearts team news and predicted line-ups

Celtic

Martin O'Neill is likely to name the same 11 who started at Motherwell on Wednesday although winger Jamie Forrest is pushing for a recall. Cameron Carter-Vickers has returned to training but is unlikely to be involved and Kasper Schmeichel and Jota remain sidelined.

Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Sinisalo; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Engels; Hyun-Jun, Nygren, Tounekti; Maeda
Subs: Saracchi, Ralston, Hatate, Forrest, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iheanacho, McCowan

Hearts

Marc Leonard and Craig Halkett have joined Craig Gordon, Oisin McEntee and Tomas Magnusson on the sidelines. Harry Milne and Cammy Devlin returned from injuries against Falkirk on Wednesday.

Predicted line-up (4-4-2): Schwolow; Steinwender, Kent, Findlay, Milne; Kyziridis, Baningime, Devlin, Spittal; Shankland, Braga
Subs: Kingsley, Forrest, Altena, Kerjota, Kabore, Chesnokov, McCart

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FAQs

When is Celtic vs Hearts in the William Hill Scottish Premiership?

Celtic vs Hearts takes place on Saturday, May 16 and kicks off at 12.30pm BST.

Where is Celtic vs Hearts being played?

The venue for the game is Celtic Park in Glasgow.

Where can I watch Celtic vs Hearts?

Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event are showing the game live in the UK.

What is the match betting for Celtic vs Hearts?

Celtic are 4-7 to win, Hearts are a 19-5 chance and the draw is 3-1 with William Hill.

What are the Scottish Premiership title odds?

Hills make Celtic their 4-7 favourites with Hearts 11-8 to finish the job on Saturday.

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