Two sides battling for a top-six finish in the Scottish Premiership will do battle on Wednesday night as Hearts host St Mirren at Tynecastle Park.
The hosts are seventh in the standings with 33 points from 27 games played, while the visitors are sixth in the table with 34 points from their 27 fixtures.
Match preview
© Imago
Hearts endured a dismal start to the 2024-25 season, crashing out of the Europa League after a defeat to Viktoria Plzen in the qualifying playoff round, while failing to win a domestic game until mid October.
The Jambos lost six and drew two of their opening eight league matches - a run that saw former manager Steven Naismith sacked - before finally defeating St Mirren 4-0 in new boss Neil Critchley's first match in charge.
Critchley has since managed to turn their fortunes around, with Hearts climbing to seventh in the standings having recorded eight wins, four draws and six losses in the subsequent 18 fixtures.
They did suffer a 3-1 loss to Rangers earlier this month, marking the end of a eight-game unbeaten run, but the Jambos brilliantly bounced back with a 2-1 win against St Johnstone last time out.
Now aiming to continue their improved form, with an eye on pushing into the top six, Hearts will host St Mirren, who the Jambos could leapfrog should they secure the win on Wednesday.
St Mirren similarly struggled at the beginning of the campaign, exiting the Conference League in the third qualifying round at the hands of SK Brann, while they won just two of their opening 10 league outings.
While they have been improved in the following weeks, climbing to sixth in the standings, St Mirren have experienced an extremely streaky season, embarking on several losing and undefeated runs.
The Saints most recently ended a three-game winless run by securing an impressive 2-0 victory over Rangers at Ibrox Stadium, and they will be hoping to build on that win here.
St Mirren have, however, struggled against Hearts in recent history, winning only one of their last six meetings across all competitions, with four defeats, one draw and one loss.
Team News
![Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/stephen-robinson.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]")
© Imago
The hosts will be without the services of Craig Halkett (hamstring), Frankie Kent (muscle), Stephen Kingsley (hamstring) and Yan Dhanda (hip) due to injury issues.
After defeating St Johnstone 2-1 in their most recent outing, Critchley may decide to name a similar team in this one, with Elton Kabangu, James Wilson and Lawrence Shankland starting in attack.
As for the visitors, Alex Iacovitti (hamstring), Conor McMenamin (calf) and Evan Mooney (ankle) are all ruled out until early next month due to ongoing injury problems.
Following their sensational 2-0 victory over Rangers at the weekend, Stephen Robinson is likely to name a similar starting 11 for this game, with goalscorers Mikael Mandron and Toyosi Olusanya starting in attack.
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Forrester, Steinwender, McCart, Penrice; Grant, Baningime, Spittal; Shankland; Wilson, Kabangu
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Hemming; Fraser, Gogic, Taylor; Alebiousu, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, O'Hara, John; Olusanya, Mandron
We say: Hearts 2-1 St Mirren
Both Hearts and St Mirren will be boosted by recent victories, but given the hosts have dominated this fixture in recent history, we expect the Jambos to win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
