Celtic vs Heart Of Midlothian Prediction

Celtic host Hearts on 18 October 2026 at 17:00 in the Scottish Premiership. Celtic beat Motherwell 2-0 last time out but suffered a 4-1 defeat to Benfica in midweek, so they return to domestic action chasing top spot. Alistair Johnston, Yang Hyun-Jun and Cameron Carter-Vickers are unavailable, though manager Martin O'Neill has depth to cover the absences. Camilo Duran has been scoring regularly and will lead the attack. Hearts come off mixed recent form: losses to Falkirk, a draw with Kilmarnock, a 5-1 win over St. Mirren, and a midweek draw with Nordsjaelland. Tom Renaud, Craig Halkett and Blair Spittal are sidelined for the visitors. Despite the injuries, Hearts have shown they can score freely and trouble stronger opponents.

Form and H2H

Celtic's last ten home matches show five wins and five losses, averaging 1.30 goals for and 1.70 against. Hearts' last ten away games produced five wins, four draws and one loss, with 2.10 goals for and 1.00 against. The head-to-head record heavily favours Celtic: they won 4-0 in January 2011, 4-0 again in February 2012, and 5-0 in May 2012. Hearts' two victories came in October 2011 and October 2012, both by 2-0. Celtic won the other three meetings 1-0. Celtic's home record against Hearts is 5-1 across these fixtures.

Best bet

Celtic 3-1 Hearts. Celtic's superior home record, attacking depth and head-to-head dominance make them clear favourites. Hearts will score—they have been productive—but Celtic should control the match and win by two goals. At 1xBet, a home win trades at 1.58.

Odds to watch

Over 2.5 goals looks attractive given both sides' attacking tendencies. Celtic average 1.30 goals at home and Hearts average 2.10 away, suggesting a high-scoring contest. The market at 1Win prices the home win at 1.58 and the draw at 4.56, with Hearts at 4.75. Both teams to score is a reasonable secondary play given Hearts' recent form and Celtic's defensive absences.