Hearts v Celtic: Preview

The Jambos play host to Celtic tomorrow in the second round of Bank of Scotland Premier League fixtures.

After disposing of Siroki Brijeg this week, Hearts are also just two games away from reaching the lucrative group stages of the Champions League.

Greek giants AEK Athens stand in their way - with the first leg of the final qualifier at Murrayfield on Wednesday.

Even at this early stage of the season, crucial matches are piling up thick and fast and Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov was also critical of the second-leg display in Bosnia this week.

But the Tynecastle boss, who guided the team to a second-place finish and Tennent's Scottish Cup glory last season, insists he is thriving on the pressure.

Ivanauskas said: ``It is the first game of the season at Tynecastle and it is a great match for the supporters too.

``It is good to have high-pressure games this early and there is also big pressure in the Champions League games for the players.

``The first league game against Dunfermline was not easy but it was important we got the three points with the 2-1 win last weekend.

``Now, it is a good time for this Celtic game. We need to get a good result.''

Ivanauskas has added three new faces to his squad with right-back Tiago Costa, on-loan Sporting Lisbon striker Mauricio Pinilla and defender Hristos Karipidis arriving in Edinburgh this week.

But the Hearts boss is looking to bring in further new faces before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

Ivanauskas added: ``We are solid in defence now and have good strikers, but we are looking for, maybe, two new midfielders.''

Celtic defender Gary Caldwell believes Tynecastle could be the place for Hoops striker Derek Riordan to kick-start his Parkhead career.

Riordan, like Caldwell, joined the Glasgow giants from Hibernian in the summer but early indications suggest he has been bought as a squad player - the 23-year-old was on the bench for the Bank of Scotland Premier League opener against Kilmarnock last week.

However, Kenny Miller is struggling with a hamstring injury while Shaun Maloney is already out for four weeks after surgery on a double hernia.

And with Craig Beattie also out with a hamstring injury, manager Gordon Strachan could partner the Scotland striker with Maciej Zurawski in attack.

Caldwell is confident Riordan, a hate figure for the Jambos' supporters when he was at Easter Road, will take his chance to impress the Parkhead boss.

He said: ``It could be a chance for Derek to make his mark. He likes scoring goals against Hearts more than anyone and I've seen him doing it in the past.

``He's scored some tremendous goals against them so I'm sure if he gets the chance he will be doing everything to get his first goal and get his career with Celtic off to a flying start.''