Hearts vs Rangers Prediction: Jam Tarts make a sweet Sunday treat at Tynecastle

There are two games still to play from round 26 of the Scottish Premiership, with Hearts hosting Rangers from noon on Sunday before St Mirren welcome Hibs to Paisley. We focus on the match from the capital, as the Jambos and Gers renew rivalries in a potentially explosive encounter.

The visitors arrive fresh from being eliminated from the Scottish Cup by lowly Queens Park at Ibrox last weekend. Hearts beat St Mirren in the same competition to progress and boast a recent unbeaten run in the Premiership. Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse previews and offers up his Hearts vs Rangers Predictions...

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Hearts were stuck in the relegation zone earlier this winter and facing the possibility of dropping back into the Championship.

It has been a challenging season for the fans, but Hearts have improved dramatically and started the weekend in seventh, pushing hard for a top-six finish. Sunday’s game against Rangers comes at the perfect time for Neil Critchley’s men, and they have reason to be confident.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement suffered another humiliating loss to Championship side Queens Park in Govan on Scottish Cup duty.

It looked like a case of how many goals the light blues would score against the Spiders, but the underdogs hit the net to shock their high-earning opponents. Many expected Clement to be sacked by now, but he staggers on and faces another make-or-break fixture.

Hearts vs Rangers Odds

Despite holding the home advantage, the backing of a confident crowd, and the momentum from a long unbeaten run, Hearts are the underdogs to win on Sunday in the nation’s capital. They’ve banked 13 of the last 15 Premiership points available, thanks to wins over Motherwell, Dundee United, Kilmarnock and Dundee.

Can Hearts add another positive result to that impressive streak while piling pressure on their opponents, who are already at breaking point? The Jambos will be popular this weekend, and you can back the locals at odds of 18/5 with Betfred.

It has been a difficult season for Rangers fans who have watched on as their team lost on penalties to Celtic at Hampden in the League Cup final, conceded the title race without ever getting out of the starting blocks, and were dumped out of the cup against a side ranked 15 places beneath them in the Scottish football pecking order.

Many supporters voiced their anger and disbelief last weekend in Glasgow, and further protests against the team and manager will take place on Sunday. You can back Rangers to add a 17th Premiership win at 4/6 with Betfred or try the draw at 11/4.

Both teams to score

Our first bet is for Sunday’s early afternoon kick-off to live up to the hype and deliver plenty of goals and even more talking points. We’re backing both teams to find the net at Tynecastle and that’s a bet that should work well in your weekend accumulators.

Backing both teams to score would’ve landed you a profit when the pair drew 3-3 here last May.

Despite last weekend’s astonishing blank, the Gers attack is capable of scoring goals and have already hit 51 in their previous 25 games. Cyriel Dessers made the difference when the Jambos and Gers last crossed paths, but problems remain for Clement at the opposite end of the pitch.

When visiting Easter Road earlier this year, they conceded three, leaked one at Dens Park, two at Old Trafford, and another at Tannadice. A confident Hearts attack can add to that by scoring at least once.

Hearts to win

It’s not too often you’ll see us pick an underdog in the match-winner market, but that’s our approach in Sunday’s live game as Edinburgh plays Glasgow. Hearts are the home team, boast the better recent form, carry attractive odds, and held Rangers to a draw when Clement’s team was last in town.

Rangers have been rotten on the road this season and their travel sickness has cost them any chance of challenging Celtic for pole position. Will those problems continue this weekend?

With the visitors under immense pressure and the hosts enjoying a solid run of results, it’s worth taking a chance on Hearts to score a rare win over Rangers.

Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...