Celtic vs Heart of Midlothian Scottish Premiership kick-off has been rescheduled suddenly due to…

CELTIC’S commanding lead in the SPFL Premiership title race has been whittled away and they head into this clash with Heart of Midlothian desperate to avoid another slip-up.

When Michael Beale was axed by Rangers the Hoops were seven points clear of their rivals and looked set to increase that advantage as Philippe Clement got his feet under the table at Ibrox.

But the advantage will now be just two points if Gers win their game in hand and Celtic face the prospect of being toppled from the summit if Clement’s side win the New Year derby at Parkhead.

The clash with the Jambos is one of three Premiership games before that pivotal showdown and Brendan Rodgers will be looking to bank maximum points from a tough run of festive fixtures.

A second-half collapse at Kilmarnock on Sunday saw Rodgers’ side crash to a 2-1 defeat in a game where all my recommended bets landed. But they bounced back in style on Wednesday, beating Feyenoord 2-1 at Parkhead to claim their first home win in the Champions League group stage for over a decade.

That gave the fans a long-overdue party on a big European night but Heart of Midlothian will be hoping there’s a Hoops hangover as Steven Naismith’s men look to get back on track after successive Premiership defeats to Rangers and Aberdeen.

It looked like the Jambos had a turned a corner after racking up four successive wins in the league but defeat at Parkhead would make it a hat-trick of defeats after that impressive run of results.

Naismith still his doubters among the Tynecastle support but if he can lead them to victory at the home of the champions it would be a feather in his cap as Hearts look to build momentum ahead of their own festive derby on December 27 at Easter Road.