The Celtic trip to Tynecastle to face Hearts always looked like a massive match for the Bhoys, but it’s taken on even more significance after Saturday’s evens.
Rangers’ surprise defeat to Motherwell at Ibrox means that Brendan Rodgers’ team can go top of the table with a victory.
It’s a chance that Celtic can’t really afford to pass up. But Hearts, at home and with their own ambitions this season, aren’t going to make it easy.
In fact, they’re going to try and come at the Bhoys with everything in the opening stages of the game in an attempt to harness the energy of the home crowd.
Midfielder Cammy Devlin has made that pretty clear in the build-up to this one, sharing the feeling within the Hearts camp.
Celtic visit to Hearts will be fast and physical
He said [Edinburgh Evening News]: “It’s important on Sunday that we come out of the blocks well. That’s something that, even on this recent run, we haven’t done as well as we can. We have spoken about it and it’s something we want to do.
“With the home fans behind us, they like when you press and go and win a tackle. That’s when they can really get going so that’s important. Celtic are obviously such a good team so you can’t be silly and press out when it’s not on. At the same time, it’s our home game. We want to take the game to them a bit and get after them. That’s something we will look at.
“The coaches will give us the gameplan and that’s what we will put out to the best of our ability. I think coming out of the blocks is something we can definitely work on. If we do that and get goals in the first half of games towards the end of the season, it makes the second half that bit easier.
“Celtic are obviously a good team with top players who had a good result on Wednesday. If you give good players chances, they will take them. We have to be compact and disciplined defending but, at the same time, we want to get chances and finish them. When we are at home, we go into every game with that little boost.”
If Celtic can come through this initial Hearts excitement and energy in the opening stages of the game unscathed, it’ll set the Bhoys up very nicely for the rest of the 90 minutes. Let them rush in and pick them off.
Back in October, Rodgers’ side expertly dismantled the Tynecastle side on their own turf, kickstarted by a Matt O’Riley goal within four minutes.
It has to be said though, we know Steven Naismith’s team are capable of disrupting Celtic. Their early goals in the Celtic Park meeting in December led to a terrible result.
The team must be ready for this one. They can’t start passively or it could easily turn into another occasion like that. Full throttle from the start Bhoys!
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