Scottish Premiership: Celtic and Rangers look to close the gap to surprise pace-setters Hearts on Matchday 10
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Celtic hoping to claw back deficit under new leadership
What a week it has been for Celtic! After suffering a painful 3-1 loss to Hearts, which saw them drop eight points behind the Scottish Premiership leaders, the Hoops were handed a major shock with Brendan Rodgers resigning as manager with immediate effect.
Former boss Martin O’Neil will take interim charge of the club with the assistance of former Celtic midfielder Shaun Mahoney. O’Neil previously led the Celts to seven major honours, including three top-flight titles during his previous tenure.
Back at the club, the 73-year-old’s first task is to get the team to bounce back from their defeat last week, and our experts are showing confidence in their chances, according to our Celtic vs Falkirk prediction.
History suggests that the Hoops should notch up a straightforward victory here, as they are unbeaten in their last 14 matches against the Bairns and scored 15 goals in their last four encounters across all competitions.
Rangers eye comeback after dismal start to the season
Rangers endured their worst start to the season since 1978-79 after only managing four points in five games, and after drawing 1-1 against Falkirk at the start of the month, the club opted to part ways with Russell Martin during the October international break.
Danny Rohl was brought in as Russell’s successor and notched up a 3-1 victory against Kilmarnock last week in his first league game in charge, which was by far the Gers’ best performance in the top flight this term.
The German tactician mentioned after that victory that his new squad now have “big belief”, and that will certainly be needed, as they are already 13 points off the league leaders. However, our experts are not sold on their chances this week based on our Hibernian vs Rangers prediction.
The Light Blues won their last match against Hibs 2-0 at home in the League Cup, but they were winless in their three preceding encounters, including back-to-back draws here at Easter Road in their last two visits to the venue.
Hearts aim to solidify status as genuine title contenders
Hearts have enjoyed an incredible season to this point, taking 25 points from a possible 27 to lead the standings by eight points, while they are also the only team in the division that has yet to taste defeat in the 2025-26 league campaign.
Still, the Jam Tarts are not the favourites to win the league as yet this season, according to the best online betting sites, but if they can continue their current form up to Christmas (and other teams around them continue to slip up), it will be hard to leave them out of the title discussion.
Indeed, Derek McInnes’ side have already beaten both Glaswegian giants this season and are the highest goal scorers in the division with 22 goals, while they also possess the best defence, with only seven goals conceded after nine matches.
The league leaders travel to the SMISA Stadium to face St. Mirren tonight and have not lost any of their last four matches against this opponent in regulation time (W2 D2). The Saints enter this clash riding a three-match losing streak after going down to Dundee United 3-1 last weekend.
