CELTIC begin a 10-game stretch of festive fixtures against Hearts at Parkhead on Thursday.
Off the back of a well-deserved victory against Aberdeen, Ange Postecoglou issued a rallying cry to his players and insisted they must "embrace the schedule" in front of them.
The 10-match run includes a cup final (December 19) and a Glasgow derby (January 2) but first up is Robbie Neilson's Jambos, who have impressed this season since gaining promotion from the Championship.
Here, The Celtic Way takes a closer look at Thursday's match...
How are Hearts playing?
Just about every metric points to Neilson's men being the undisputed third force in Scottish football.
They're in that position when it comes to goals, xG, touches in the penalty area, PPDA, deep completions and about seven other areas.
They're also second in dribbling, challenge intensity and through passes while sitting top for penalties won.
Curiously, however, while they are have conceded the third-fewest goals in the division their xG against suggests they should have conceded five more. The Jambos are also bottom five of the league for ball losses and are a bottom-half side for shots conceded.
Defeats to Aberdeen and Motherwell have dented their form slightly but they've still won two of their last three games and sit (you guessed it) third in the table.
Impressively, they haven't dipped below that place since the second matchday of the season. Indeed, it took Celtic 11 matchdays to overtake the Jambos after suffering defeat at Tynecastle on the opening night.
FORM (L-R, most recent first): W-L-W-L-D
Who are their dangermen?
Liam Boyce unsurprisingly leads the way in terms of goals for the Gorgie side (and actually tops the league in xG).
The Northern Irishman enjoyed a prolific start to the season with three goals and an assist in four League Cup group-stage games before another against Celtic in the last 16.
He followed that up with a remarkable run of six goals and an assist in nine games before injury kept him out for three matches. He has been back for two now but has yet to find the net again.
Elsewhere, Gary Mackay-Steven has the edge in assists (with three) and tops the league for dribbling OBV. Likewise, right wing-back Michael Smith is useful outlet and Stephen Kingsley has proven himself a valuable player overall from left centre-back.
It is worth noting that Josh Ginnelly, who posed Celtic some dangerous problems in previous games between the sides, fell out of the starting line-up in September/October but has regained some starter's minutes in recent weeks and is always a threat wide right.
What happened last time?
Celtic won 3-2 in a League Cup match that gained some semblance of revenge for an opening-night defeat in the league at Tynecastle a couple of weeks prior.
Goals from Odsonne Edouard, Stephen Welsh and Kyogo Furuhashi sealed the Hoops' progress while they also had a penalty turned down by referee John Beaton and James McCarthy made his debut.
Boyce's penalty and a late Aaron McEneff strike put some gloss on the scoreline but it was an afternoon that Celtic dominated.
The Hoops team has changed further from that day, although up to eight of the same starting XI could line up against the Jambos on Thursday.
What's changed since then?
Neilson has stuck with three at the back although he has favoured a broad 3-4-3 shape as opposed to a more defensive five at the back with three central midfielders.
In the last meeting, Peter Haring shared the midfield with Baningime and Halliday but it's been largely a dual-axis of Cammy Devlin and Baningime since then.
Halliday started the last game - a 2-0 win over St Mirren - at left wing-back but Cochrane is still regarded as first-choice in that position.
Further forward Boyce remains the Jambos' main man despite his recent injury absence while the creative burden falls on the wing-backs and variously two of Mackay-Steven, Ginnelly, Ben Woodburn and Barrie McKay.
Where can I watch Celtic v Hearts?
If you can't make it along to Parkhead the game is slated to be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 7pm and kick-off at 7.45pm.
For overseas fans, both Hearts TV and Celtic TV will also broadcast the action.
As always, we will be on hand post-match with detailed man-by-man ratings and reaction so be sure to check in.
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