Hearts v Celtic: Visitors aim to reclaim Premiership top spot

“The fun begins” now for Celtic, said manager Brendan Rodgers, as he takes his team to Tynecastle on Sunday for a crucial contest in the Scottish Premiership title race.

“When you arrive at 10 games to go, that’s when the fun begins, that’s when you are into the business side,” Rodgers said at his Friday news conference.

“That’s what I am really looking forward to.”

Celtic were beaten 2-0 by Hearts in the sides’ last meeting, but have won on their past five visits to Gorgie and thrashed Dundee 7-1 on Wednesday as they found their best form.

And Rodgers, whose side trail Rangers by two points, is optimistic his team can find the required consistency for the run-in.

“We have obviously had inconsistencies up to this point,” he added. “But we are still very much there, it’s still very much in our hands.

“I have always felt our biggest enemy this season is ourselves. If we perform to the level that we can do on a consistent basis, we are a very good team. It’s that consistency now of taking that performance into our next game.”

Hearts head coach Steven Naismith is hoping his side can capitalise on any nerves Celtic may have in a tight title race.

“From my experiences, when you’ve got a title race that’s neck and neck, the outcome of the Saturday game can have an impact on the Sunday, and that rolls on every week until the title’s decided,” said Naismith, who won the league three times with Rangers.

“We’ve got to use that, plus the fact we’re at home and we’ve been on a really good run of form, to our advantage.

“We’ve got to use all the confidence we’ve built over the last three or four months to give ourselves a good chance of winning. We want to start the game well and show that we’ve got a bit of punch about us.

“It’s about getting control in these games. If you’re going to sit and defend for 90 minutes, you’re just asking to bring on pressure and inevitably allow them chances.”

Team news

Hearts will be without centre-half Frankie Kent due to a knee injury sustained in the midweek 1-1 draw with Hibernian. Yutaro Oda, Craig Halkett, Peter Haring, Barrie McKay and Liam Boyce remain out.

Celtic captain Callum McGregor is a doubt with a calf/Achilles problem. Reo Hatate is unlikely to feature before the international break while Maik Nawrocki is also injured and Liel Abada is still not being considered for selection.