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The battle for the Scottish Premiership title heats up this weekend as league leaders Hearts host second-placed Celtic in a crunch clash. Hearts are the only Premiership side to avoid defeat so far this season, having enjoyed a fine start to life under new boss Derek McInnes. His side sit five points clear and have won their last four league games without conceding, including a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock last time out - but they have a dismal record against today’s visitors, having lost 14 of their last 16 meetings. But Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic - smarting from a 2-0 loss to Dundee - have reason for concern too with this fixture: the last time they suffered back-to-back league defeats was in December 2023, when they lost 2-0 to Hearts. Here’s everything you need to know. Hearts host Celtic at Tynecastle Park on Sunday 26 October, with kick-off at 12pm GMT. Viewers in the UK can watch the action on Sky Sports Main Event and Football, as well as streaming service Sky Go. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. Hearts’ bid to go eight points clear may be hampered by a raft of injuries, with Calem Nieuwenhof, Christian Borchgrevink, Ageu, Finlay Pollock, Frankie Kent and Ryan Fulton all expected to miss out. For the visitors, both Alistair Johnston and Kelechi Iheanacho came off in the first half of their 2-1 Europa League win over Sturm Graz midweek, with the pair doubts for today alongside Daizen Maeda, all with hamstring issues. USA international Cameron Carter-Vickers played the full game but was seen at full-time clutching his leg, and could now be out for anywhere between three to five months after injuring his Achilles. Hearts XI: Schwolow, McEntee, Halkett, Findlay, Kingsley, Milne, Devlin, Baningime, Kyziridis, Braga, Shankland Celtic XI: Schmeichel, Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney, Nygren, McGregor, Hatate, Engels, Kenny, Tounekti
