Martin O’Neill’s public backing for Kasper Høgh could point towards another start for the striker when Celtic welcome Hearts to Parkhead this afternoon.

The bigger question is whether Sebastian Tounekti keeps his place after being withdrawn at half-time against Benfica, with Haissem Hassan and Callum Osmand offering more encouragement from the bench.

Celtic kick off at 3pm, with the match live on Sky Sports. After Rangers’ two-all draw at Dundee on Saturday, victory would put the Hoops four points clear of their Glasgow rivals.

We cover every Celtic transfer story from first link to done deal.

Thursday’s 4-1 defeat in Lisbon has left O’Neill with decisions throughout the team. Celtic improved after the interval, but another poor opening against Hearts would make an already demanding afternoon considerably harder.

Our Celtic Starting XI Predictions vs Hearts

Sinisalo to continue, Scales tipped to return

Viljami Sinisalo is our pick to retain the gloves, with Colby Donovan and Kieran Tierney at full-back.

Cameron Carter-Vickers remains unavailable with a hamstring injury and is also expected to miss Thursday’s Europa League meeting with Celta Vigo. His absence leaves O’Neill choosing between Dane Murray, Liam Scales and Auston Trusty in central defence.

We are predicting Murray and Scales, restoring the partnership that helped Celtic keep a clean sheet in last weekend’s 2-0 victory at Motherwell. Trusty started alongside Murray in Portugal, so a change here is far from certain.

Baur fitness check shapes midfield

McGregor should anchor the midfield, with Benjamin Nygren tipped to return after starting on the bench against Benfica.

Mika Baur gets the other midfield position in our predicted side, provided he passes his fitness assessment. O’Neill has described the problem he suffered in Lisbon as a dead leg and indicated that he could be available this afternoon. That is encouraging, rather than confirmation he will start. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a credible alternative after his contribution from the bench on Thursday. His composure gives O’Neill another option if Baur is not ready.

Tounekti out, but does Høgh survive?

Tounekti’s position should be under serious consideration. His first-half performance against Benfica did little to strengthen his claim, and the players introduced at the break gave Celtic more attacking threat.

Hassan supplied the assist for Camilo Durán’s goal, while Osmand offered an alternative on the left. Both have given O’Neill grounds to change his starting front three.

Our prediction is that Hassan starts on the right, with Durán moving across to the left and Høgh retaining the central role.

That would mean another positional adjustment for Durán, who has a strong argument for being selected through the middle himself. His goal in Lisbon strengthened that case, and there would be understandable frustration if Celtic again struggled to get their most productive forward into scoring positions.

However, O’Neill’s comments suggest he remains determined to help Høgh recover his confidence.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the manager said:

“I expect Kasper Høgh to score 20 goals this season. He’s just lost a little bit of confidence.”

That backing does not guarantee a start against Hearts, but it makes another opportunity for the Dane plausible.

The alternative would be Durán at centre-forward, Hassan on the right and either Osmand or Jota on the left. Jota’s recent return after a lengthy injury absence makes his readiness for a start another consideration.

We are narrowly tipping O’Neill to persist with Høgh. If he does, Celtic need better service into the box and runners close enough to support him. Hearts will be a difficult enough opponent without the centre-forward being left isolated.

Predicted Celtic XI, 4-1-2-3: Sinisalo; Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney; McGregor; Nygren, Baur; Hassan, Høgh, Durán.