Runaway Scottish Championship leaders Hearts take on city rivals Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby on Saturday aiming to preserve their 100% home record.
Form
A 1-0 win over bottom club Livingston last weekend was a fourth victory on the bounce for Hearts and a seventh in eight overall, and they now lie a massive 15 points clear of Rangers in second. Robbie Nielsen's side have also earned clean sheets in their last three consecutive games, conceded only two in their last seven games and dropped only four points all season in Scotland's second tier, with their only defeats coming in cup competitons as Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic knocking the Jambos out of both the league cup and FA Cup.
James Keating is the club's top scorer this term with eight goals to his tally, including the winner against Livingston, the fourth game in a row in which he's found the net.
Hibs have now earned three consecutive wins themselves after thumping Rangers 4-0 last weekend – their biggest win over the struggling Glasgow giants in over a century and a victory that moved them to within four points of the Gers in third spot. Alan Stubbs' charges have now lost just once inside 90 minutes since September, won five of their last six and scored 17 times over that run of games.
French striker Dominique Malonga is his side's top scorer this term with 11 goals in all competitions, including five in his last five and eight of in the Championship.
Team News
Full-back Kevin McHattie is touch and go for Hearts with a knee problem which has seen him miss the last five games for the club. Boss Nielsen is also likely to be without forward Osman Sow with the Swedish forward still recovering from a torn muscle.
Moroccan forward Farid El Alagui is out for Hibernian with an Achilles tendon injury which is expected to sideline him until February.
Head to Head
This will be the third meeting between the teams this term, Hearts were 2-1 victors in the first derby of the season at Tynecastle back in August. They were held to a 1-1 draw to see them drop points for only the second time this season in late October, although they had been seconds away from their only defeat of the league campaign before Alim Ozturk struck a last-gasp equalizer and there have already been three red cards in their two clashes this season.
Hearts have won five of the past seven fixtures overall, with Hibs wining just three of the last 20 outings against their bitter rivals.
Recommended Bets
Despite their perfect home record and formidable results overall this season the prior games between the teams this season prove little is predictable when it comes to derbies.
Both teams to score at 8/11 seems the pick of the odds-on punts, while Malonga is well-priced to score anytime at 19/10 and 13/2 to bag the first.
Form
A 1-0 win over bottom club Livingston last weekend was a fourth victory on the bounce for Hearts and a seventh in eight overall, and they now lie a massive 15 points clear of Rangers in second. Robbie Nielsen's side have also earned clean sheets in their last three consecutive games, conceded only two in their last seven games and dropped only four points all season in Scotland's second tier, with their only defeats coming in cup competitons as Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic knocking the Jambos out of both the league cup and FA Cup.
James Keating is the club's top scorer this term with eight goals to his tally, including the winner against Livingston, the fourth game in a row in which he's found the net.
Hibs have now earned three consecutive wins themselves after thumping Rangers 4-0 last weekend – their biggest win over the struggling Glasgow giants in over a century and a victory that moved them to within four points of the Gers in third spot. Alan Stubbs' charges have now lost just once inside 90 minutes since September, won five of their last six and scored 17 times over that run of games.
French striker Dominique Malonga is his side's top scorer this term with 11 goals in all competitions, including five in his last five and eight of in the Championship.
Team News
Full-back Kevin McHattie is touch and go for Hearts with a knee problem which has seen him miss the last five games for the club. Boss Nielsen is also likely to be without forward Osman Sow with the Swedish forward still recovering from a torn muscle.
Moroccan forward Farid El Alagui is out for Hibernian with an Achilles tendon injury which is expected to sideline him until February.
Head to Head
This will be the third meeting between the teams this term, Hearts were 2-1 victors in the first derby of the season at Tynecastle back in August. They were held to a 1-1 draw to see them drop points for only the second time this season in late October, although they had been seconds away from their only defeat of the league campaign before Alim Ozturk struck a last-gasp equalizer and there have already been three red cards in their two clashes this season.
Hearts have won five of the past seven fixtures overall, with Hibs wining just three of the last 20 outings against their bitter rivals.
Recommended Bets
Despite their perfect home record and formidable results overall this season the prior games between the teams this season prove little is predictable when it comes to derbies.
With that in mind there looks to be value in taking on the visitors at 3/1, with their confidence riding high after last week's hammering of Rangers while the 15/8 on Hibs in 'Draw no bet' market also offering plenty of appeal.""
Both teams to score at 8/11 seems the pick of the odds-on punts, while Malonga is well-priced to score anytime at 19/10 and 13/2 to bag the first.