SCOTTISH LEAGUE BETTING PREVIEW - CELTIC VS HEARTS

Scottish League

2026-05-16 - Celtic vs Hearts

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Celtic v Hearts
Football: Scottish Premiership Championship Group
Saturday 16th May 2026 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Celtic

The controversy around the VAR intervention to award Celtic an injury time Penalty at Fir Park on Wednesday is not going to quieten down ahead of this last game of the Scottish Premiership season. Those in green and white might be surprised that so many have been critical of the decision made by the VAR officials, but it felt incredibly tough on Motherwell on the night.

Martin O'Neill will be looking to silence the outside noise and instead focus his Celtic team for one more big push in their bid to win a fifth straight Scottish title. At 2-2 on Wednesday and with time running down, Celtic would have needed a big win on Saturday to win the title, but the late Penalty and three points means The Bhoys just need to win. The side have a 14-1-3 record at Celtic Park this season, which will give everyone a lot of confidence ahead of the fixture.

Celtic have won 6 Scottish Premiership games in a row to push the title race into the final day of the season and they have a Scottish FA Cup Final to look forward to next weekend. Since losing consecutive home games in February, Celtic have won 4 in a row at Celtic Park and they have scored 10 goals in that run.

Hearts

Derek McInnes will have been really pleased with his team after the final game at Tynecastle ended in a big win for Hearts, but he was not very happy in the post-match press conference. The manager described the Penalty awarded to Celtic as 'disgusting' and Hearts really do feel they have been hard done by in relation to VAR interventions this month.

Even the Hearts ownership have been upset with recent decisions that have kept the title race alive and the majority shareholder have released a statement around that ahead of this game. They are still top of the table, but Hearts would have been finishing up as Champions with a narrow defeat before the late Celtic Penalty that saw them win at Fir Park. Now the situation is clear in that Hearts need to avoid a defeat and they travel to Glasgow with a 9-4-5 away record.

Hearts are unbeaten in 7 Scottish Premiership games and they have won 5 of those matches. The away form has been much sketchier and Hearts have won 1 of the last 6 Premiership games on their travels, while being beaten 3 times in that run before the draw at Livingston just before the League was split into Championship and Relegation Groups.

Head to Head

Hearts won the first two League games between the teams, but the last finished 2-2 at the end of January.

The one fixture hosted by Celtic ended in a 1-3 win for Hearts in December, which was also the first match under Wilfried Nancy in his ill-fated time in charge.

Prediction

The Scottish title will be decided in this fixture on Saturday, but all of the talk in the build up to the game has been about the VAR decisions made over the last couple of match days.

The consensus would be that Hearts deserved a Penalty in the 1-1 draw at Fir Park last weekend, while Celtic did not at the same Stadium on Wednesday.

Instead the VAR decided to ignore the Penalty for Hearts and gave Celtic a lifeline in injury time on Wednesday, which has put the four time defending Champions in a much more comfortable position.

In another dimension, Hearts have already won the title with those two decisions going in their favour rather than Celtic's, but right here, right now it is Celtic who have benefited.

Without the VAR intervention, Celtic may have ended up drawing 2-2 at Fir Park and that would have meant needing to win by at least three goals to steal the title from under Hearts' noses.

Instead there is a point between the teams and Celtic will be Champions if they win at home, while Hearts will be Champions if they avoid a loss.

Derek McInnes was not very happy with the Penalty awarded to Celtic on Wednesday and the manager, the Hearts ownership and the fans will all be hoping for a fair crack of the whip. Playing for a draw may not be the ambition for Hearts, but they are in a tough spot and it could make things more difficult for an inexperienced squad.

The home team know what it takes to win titles and Martin O'Neill is a veteran manager who also has that experience.

As much as most non-Celtic supporters would love to see Hearts end the Glasgow dominance of Scottish Football, the last couple of match days have just worked in favour of the four time defending Champions.

Celtic have been producing big results at home, while Hearts have battled in recent away games, but not had the same level of success as earlier this season.

The Jambos have not been beaten by Celtic this season, but it feels like the home team may have the momentum right now to win a high-scoring fixture on Saturday and force the clock to hit midnight on the Hearts Cinderella season.

The Pick :

Celtic 2-1 Hearts

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Celtic to Win & Over 1 Total Goal (Bet Builder) at 1.75 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)