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PremiershipPremiership
Full time
7-1
Sun 18 Oct · 15:00

Celtic vs Heart Of Midlothian prediction

Follow CelticFollow Heart Of MidlothianFollow this match
Round
Regular Season - 9
Venue
Celtic Park, Glasgow

Published by the BetGenius Editorial Desk · Editorial policy

Form

Recent form

Celtic
43Poor

Last 5 matches · 2W-0D-3L · +3 goal difference

Heart Of Midlothian
33Poor

Last 5 matches · 1W-2D-2L · -3 goal difference

Our call

Our verdict

Double Chance
Celtic or Draw

BetGenius backs Celtic or Draw (Double Chance) at 75% confidence — a strong call. Total goals: Over 2.5 Goals.

75%
Confidence
Strong
Preview

Match preview

Premiership leaders Celtic host third-placed Heart of Midlothian in a pivotal clash at the top of the table. Celtic sit at the summit with 21 points from eight matches, having recorded seven wins and one defeat while conceding only four goals. However, defensive absences including injuries to Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston test their depth following mixed recent outings across domestic and European commitments.

Heart of Midlothian travel to Glasgow in fine scoring touch, having registered 19 goals across their opening eight league games and never failing to score this season. Their away form has been less commanding, yielding one victory, one draw, and two defeats, with six goals scored and six conceded on their travels.

The head-to-head record reflects a competitive rivalry, with Celtic winning five and Hearts taking four of their last ten meetings. While Celtic have taken four victories from the last six encounters hosted on their own ground, Hearts possess the firepower through J. McPake and Claudio Braga to present a persistent threat throughout the contest.

Analysis

Key factors

  1. Celtic top the Premiership table with seven wins from eight matches and have conceded just two league goals at home.
  2. Heart of Midlothian have scored in all eight league games this season, amassing 19 goals, but have won only one of their four away fixtures.
  3. Celtic face defensive disruptions with regular defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston sidelined through injury.
  4. The head-to-head series has produced over 2.5 goals in seven of the last ten meetings, averaging 3.2 goals per match.
Availability

Team news

Celtic

  • C. Carter-VickersHealth problems
  • L. EmenaloOff the roster
  • A. JohnstonLeg Injury
  • JotaOff the roster
  • S. MheukaOff the roster
  • Yang Hyun-JunHamstring Injury
  • J. van den BergOff the roster
  • A. TrustyInactive

Heart Of Midlothian

Team news unavailable for this fixture.

Numbers

Statistical comparison

Celtic at homeHeart Of Midlothian away
5
Played
5
4-0-1
W-D-L
1-1-3
2.6
Scored /game
1.4
0.6
Conceded /game
2.6
40%
Clean sheets
0%
20%
Failed to score
0%
60%
BTTS (last 5)
60%
60%
Over 2.5 (last 5)
40%

Combined scoring rate: 4 goals per game (Celtic at home plus Heart Of Midlothian away).

Players

Key players this season

Celtic

  • B. Nygren6G · 3A
  • C. Durán5G · 5A
  • K. Høgh3G · 2A
  • K. Tierney3A

Heart Of Midlothian

  • J. McPake3G · 5A
  • Cláudio Braga2A

League scoring and assist totals for this season — not a predicted lineup. Availability is only shown where team news names the same player.

Table

Table context

Full table →
#TeamPGDPts
1CelticPromotion - Premiership (Championship Group)9+1824
2RangersPromotion - Premiership (Championship Group)9+620
3Heart Of MidlothianPromotion - Premiership (Championship Group)9+516
4DundeePromotion - Premiership (Championship Group)9+314
5ST JohnstonePromotion - Premiership (Championship Group)9012
6Dundee UtdPromotion - Premiership (Championship Group)9-112
History

Head-to-head

Full record →
6
Celtic
1
Draws
3
Heart Of Midlothian

Celtic have won 6 of the last 10 meetings, averaging 3.8 goals a game, both teams scored in 60% of them.

  • 2026-10-18Celtic7-1Heart Of Midlothian
  • 2026-05-16Celtic3-1Heart Of Midlothian
  • 2026-01-25Heart Of Midlothian2-2Celtic
  • 2025-12-07Celtic1-2Heart Of Midlothian
  • 2025-10-26Heart Of Midlothian3-1Celtic
BetGenius

Our record in Premiership

58%39 won from 67 settled predictions

Settled results only — every published pick is recorded win or lose. Full track record →

Based on at least 20 settled predictions.
Predictions

1 published market

FeaturedWON
Double Chance
Celtic or Draw
75%
Confidence

Celtic have been dependable in league play, winning seven of eight fixtures and allowing just two goals in four home Premiership matches. Nevertheless, Hearts pose an attacking test having scored in every league fixture this term and averaging 2.4 goals per game overall. With Celtic managing key defensive injuries to Carter-Vickers and Johnston, and Hearts having taken four wins from the last ten head-to-head meetings, covering both the home victory and the draw provides the most sensible approach. Backing over 2.5 goals also aligns with the fixture history, where 70 percent of recent meetings exceeded that mark with an average of 3.2 goals per game.

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Published October 17, 2026. Form, team news and table context refresh automatically.