Heart of Midlothian will welcome the vengeful Celtic to Tynecastle Park this Saturday as the two clash in the opening weekend of the Scottish Premiership in the 2021/22 season.
The two had very contrasting seasons last year, albeit, in entirely different divisions in Scotland.
Ange Postecoglou on #FCMCEL.— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 28, 2021
Ange Postecoglou on #FCMCEL.
The serial winners of the last decade, Celtic, have been ruthless in the top flight for years and years, which resulted in back-to-back domestic trebles not too long ago, and nine titles in a row and were searching for an unrivalled 10 in succession.
However, after 11 years in the shadows, Rangers finally returned to the top of Scottish football to dethrone Celtic after so long. This meant that the Hoops finished second for the first time since 2010/11, with a points tally of only 77, which included 11 draws and five defeats.
Much of Celtic's demise has been down to the loss of personnel, with the likes of Brendan Rodgers departing for Leicester City and Moussa Dembele leaving for France, allowing the Gers to up the ante and snatch the title. This season, however, they have managed to keep top scorer Odsonne Edouard and will likely give plenty of minutes to the 18-year-old wonderkid, Karamoko Dembélé.
If Celtic are to return to the top, Edouard must build on his 18 goals from the last league season, but doubts continue over the new manager in Glasgow, Angelos Postecoglou, who recently couldn't get Celtic into the Champions League following a 3-2 defeat to Midtjylland.
As for Hearts, they are returning to the Scottish first division after bouncing back at the first time of asking. When they were relegated in 2020, fear ran through the club, but after winning 17 games from 27 matches in the second tier, they won the league comfortably with a 12 point gap on Dundee.
This season, however, is going to be a tough one once more for Hearts, given the competition in the division down the lower ranks. The Jam Tarts are going to need Liam Boyce to step up once again, who managed to bag 19 goals last campaign, whilst the experienced heads of players like Andy Halliday are going to be crucial for Hearts back in the SPFL.
With this said, we don't see how Celtic do not snatch all three points. They will be out swinging after losing their title and the Hoops couldn't ask for an easier start to the season than against the newly promoted Hearts.