Celtic aims to continue perfect start against Hearts

Soccer Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Celtic welcomes Hearts to Parkhead on Saturday the Hoops will not only be trying for their fourth win in four games to start the season, but also to keep manager Neil Lennon's record in charge of the club unblemished.

Since taking over toward the end of last season as Celtic manager, the team has won all 11 of its league games with Lennon in charge, but the club will be expecting a stern test from Hearts.

The Edinburgh side has earned five points from its first three games, and according to Celtic defender Daniel Majstorovic, Hearts is one of the main competitors for Celtic.

"Hearts are one of the stronger teams along with Celtic and Rangers so we know it will be a difficult game," he told the club's official website. "But we are at home and have to keep going on in the same way we have been."

Majstorovic and the Celtic defense have yet to concede a goal in the opening three games, but they will be tested by a Hearts team that recorded a 4-0 win over Hamilton last time out.

Rangers has also started with three wins so far this season, and Walter Smith's men will travel to Hamilton on Saturday, with Gers striker Kenny Miller looking to continue his strong start to the season, which includes five goals in the first three games.

Dundee United and St Johnstone are the only teams without a win so far this season, and Dundee hosts Aberdeen while St Johnstone entertains Motherwell.

Inverness and Hibernian have both earned three points to start the season as they get together at Easter Road Stadium, while Kilmarnock hosts St Mirren with Killie having beaten the Saints just once in their last nine meetings.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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