Preview: Hearts vs. Celtic

Hearts will be hoping of making it an Old Firm double on Sunday when they host Celtic in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

The Edinburgh-based club extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Championship table to nine points last weekend when they beat Rangers 2-0 at Tynecastle to extend their unbeaten run to eight games.

However, that streak began after they were comfortably dispatched by Celtic in the Scottish League Cup, and boss Robbie Neilson will be hoping for a change of fortunes on their home patch.

James Keatings and Adam Eckersley could be included in the starting lineup after coming on as second-half substitutes last weekend.

Celtic have under-performed in their last two fixtures in the Europa League but their displays on the domestic scene have seen them move back to the top of the Scottish Premiership standings.

After the arrival of coach Ronny Deila, Celtic struggled to put together a sequence of results but six wins in a row in all Scottish competitions has boosted morale at the club.

Deila is likely to rotate his team after the 3-1 defeat to Red Bull Salzburg, with Kris Commons, Beram Kayal and James Forrest all in line to return to the side.

Hearts:

Form in Scottish Cup: DWWWLL Form in all competitions: WWDWWW

Possible starting lineup: Alexander, Paterson, Ozturk, McKay, Eckersley, Walker, Pallardo Gonzalez, Gomis, King, Holt, Keatings

Celtic:

Form in Scottish Cup: WWWWWL Form in all competitions: WWDWWL

Possible starting lineup: Gordon; Matthews, Ambrose, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Kayal; McGregor, Commons, Forrest; Griffiths

Sports Mole says: 1-3