Celtic vs Hearts: Bhoys stand on the edge of greatness in Sunday's Scottish Cup final

Celtic vs Hearts
Sunday, 14:15
Live on Premier Sports

Quadruple Treble

Celtic stand on the edge of greatness heading into Sunday's Scottish Cup final match with Hearts at Hampden. The Glaswegians set the standard with a treble last season and are now just one game away from another domestic clean sweep for the fourth season in-a-row.

Having been knocked out of the League Cup by Ross County at home last month that winning run has come to an end and the next piece of silverware will be won by a team outwith the Old Firm.

That ramps up the pressure on Neil Lennon's Hoops to finish on a high, but they'll find Hearts to be a determined opponent, one eager to secure their own piece of history.

Celts set the Scottish Cup standard

Celtic have won this competition a total of 39 times in the past, between 1892 and 2019. They have also claimed the trophy in each of the last four years and five times since 2010. That effort places them top of the Scottish Cup performance charts, boasting six more titles than city rivals Rangers who last lifted the silverware in 2009.

Celts arrive at the national stadium on an improving run of form and since that shock defeat to Ross County in the League Cup, they have drawn with St Johnstone and beaten Kilmarnock domestically, were hammered 4-2 by AC Milan and edged Lille 3-2 in the Europa League.

Having been given the midweek off, Celtic should be fully rested and raring to go following last Sunday's 2-0 victory over Killie at Celtic Park, achieved thanks to goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Shane Duffy.

Jambos begin the fightback

Since securing their place in the final of the Scottish Cup with a hard-fought win over derby rivals Hibs after extra-time in October, Hearts have begun their Championship campaign. The Jambos were relegated from the top-flight of Scottish football when the coronavirus emergency and resulting lockdown forced a premature end to last season.

Robbie Neilson's men have stormed to the top of the league thanks to six wins and a defeat in their first seven games, scoring 21 goals while conceding only six. A quickfire return to the Premiership is expected but there's still plenty of work to be done with the likes of Dunfermline and Raith Rovers keeping up the pressure.

There's no doubt the Scottish Cup is a distraction to Hearts but winning the trophy for the ninth time would serve as a major confidence boost to the squad.

Jam Tarts a sweet treat

With a Premiership champion chasing a fourth Scottish Cup on the bounce against an opponent plying the trade in the Championship, there's no surprise to learn we have a hot favourite in the match winner market on the Betfair Exchange. Celtic are 1.374/11 to win the game in regulation time or 1.794/5 with a -1 goal handicap.

Hearts are up against it here, even the most loyal of Jambo fans will know that, but this is a cup final where anything can happen. If Hearts were to win it certainly wouldn't be the first upset in this tournament's history.

In the 90 minutes betting, we find Hearts at 9.617/2 with the draw 5.69/2. There's sure to be a level of interest on the Jam Tarts at such a sweet price.

There's hope for goals

Much has changed at both clubs since the 2019/20 season, but the teams did produce a total of 11 goals in three games last term. Over 2.5 goals in this renewal is 1.384/11 with under the same mark trading at an eye-catching 3.052/1.

Flicking through the stats attached to recent games involving these teams we see Celtic won without conceding in the last two and fans will be eager to see more of the same here.

Olivier Ntcham scored two goals in two games vs Hearts and is worth a bet at 5/2 on the Sportsbook to net at any time during this match.