Football betting tips: Scottish Premiership
2pts Camilo Duran to score anytime at 5/4 (Sky Bet)
1pt Claudio Braga to be booked at 4/1 (General)
When Celtic kick off against Hearts this Sunday it will be 155 days and 39 minutes since Daizen Maeda's pivotal strike between the sides during last season’s title decider.
Long time Premiership leaders Hearts had been seven minutes from glory only for the ruthless Parkhead winning machine to snatch it away with an eventual 3-1 win.
Since then both clubs have endured varying fortunes.
Martin O'Neill will take his place in the Parkhead dugout having suffered four defeats from his last five outings. Last month's double Old Firm defeat by Rangers sandwiched a home loss to Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
The extended international break came at a good time for O'Neill who stayed on after taking time to 'reflect' the triple loss.
A comfortable 2-0 away win against a woeful Motherwell side got things briefly back on track last weekend but Thursday night’s 4-1 Europa League hammering at Benfica showed the Fir Park victory merely papered over the cracks.
Their £11m record signing Kasper Hogh continues to fire blanks while centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers' injury absence leaves them vulnerable defensively.
Replacement Dane Murray was chosen to partner Austin Trusty at Estádio da Luz but his cumbersome display, including the concession of a penalty, would point to Liam Scales returning on Sunday.
CAMILO DURAN has been one notable positive for Celtic this season having already bagged eight goals.
He found the net against Benfica in midweek and the 5/4 about him TO SCORE ANYTIME at home will become increasingly rare.
His ability to find the net has come despite being forced out to the right wing with goal-shy Hogh playing through the middle.
However the Colombian may well find himself in a more central role in place of the Dane come Sunday which would add to his goalscoring appeal, especially against an open Hearts side.
Since that fateful day at Celtic Park on May 16, the Jam Tarts have gone through a major overhaul on and off the pitch.
Manager Derek McInnes, captain Lawrence Shankland and midfield mainstay Cammy Devlin all jumped ship for Rangers.
Step forward new Belgian boss Wouter Vrancken and his 'organised chaos' brand of football.
While McInnes’ Hearts side impressively chalked up the victories last season, it was done with a pragmatic approach and a big emphasis on set-pieces. Vrancken's full throttle, attacking approach couldn't be more different.
It initially saw the Jambos endure early season European pain as the players, including many new signings, struggled to get to grips with the new system. But the turnaround has been impressive with them now sitting five points behind their opponents in third place.
Make no mistake, Vrancken will go for it against Celtic. He did so against superior sides Sturm Graz and Benfica and has full faith in his approach.
But crucially they have been especially vulnerable in transition which could open the door for the likes of Duran.
This all points to an entertaining clash. With the Hoops weakened at the back, Hearts will also more than fancy their chances of breaching their rearguard.
New left winger Josh McPake is in the form of his life and will come up against young right-back Colby Donovan. Donovan has been impressive coming in for the injured Alistair Johnston and like McPake recently earned a Scotland call-up.
It should be a fascinating battle between the pair.
Ex-Celt Calvin Miller has also hit the ground running for the Tynecastle side and will be desperate to show his former employers what they're missing.
However he'll need to be at the top of his game to get any change out of Kieran Tierney.
With the pain of last season still fresh in the memory, it's worth looking at the Hearts players still at the club.
The Jambos were victims of some questionable refereeing decisions including "the worst VAR decision I've seen" according to Gary Lineker.
The final game pitch invasion after the Bhoys' third goal saw the Gorgie men get straight back on the bus for Edinburgh. One of those players was live wire attacking midfielder CLAUDIO BRAGA who was voted player of the season.
An expertly taken goal during last weekend's 5-0 thumping over St Mirren outlined his class at this level, but it’s the disciplinary side of his game which piques the interest here.
He's not you're stereotypical dirty player but did pick up an early yellow card during the 1-1 Conference League draw with Nordsjælland on Thursday and he was incredibly fortunate not to receive another after two more fouls including needless shirt pulling.
Sunday's referee David Dickinson isn't shy of flashing the cards having presided over four Premiership matches so far this season dishing out an average of five yellows per game. He also booked BRAGA in a clash with Aberdeen last November.
The Portuguese always leaves it all out on the pitch and with last season's frustration still at the fore he looks a decent shout TO BE CARDED at 4/1.
With such attacking talent on display an entertaining affair looks to be in store with both sides also struggling to keep clean sheets against opposition of a similar or better level.
They are the top two scorers in the league with Celtic averaging two league goals per game and Hearts 2.4. Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals look likely but the odds are unsurprisingly stingy.
Odds correct at 19:00 BST (16/10/26)
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