The bottom two teams in the Scottish Premiership table are set to come face to face on Sunday afternoon when basement dwellers Hearts take on St Johnstone at Tynecastle Park.
The hosts are at the foot of the table with just 13 points from 17 outings, while the visitors are 11th with 14 points from their first 17 matches.
Match preview
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Since returning to the Scottish Premiership as champions of the second division in 2020-21, Hearts have cemented themselves as the best of the rest in the top flight, but they now find themselves fighting against making a shock return to the Championship.
The Jambos finished third in both 2021-22 and 2023-24, sandwiched around a fourth-placed finish in 2022-23, but a torrid start to this campaign has left them at the foot of the Scottish Premiership table.
Steven Naismith led the side to just one draw and eight defeats from their first nine matches across all competitions, a run that saw Hearts eliminated from the Europa League and resulted in the manager's dismissal.
After a brief spell under interim boss Liam Fox, when they secured one win, one draw and one loss, Hearts have shown signs of improvement since the arrival of new manager Neil Critchley.
The former Blackpool boss got off to the dream start with back-to-back wins against St Mirren and Omonia Nicosia, and Critchley now boasts a record of four wins, three draws and seven defeats in 14 games.
Those results leave the Jambos just two points adrift from safety, while a victory here could lift them to as high as ninth in the table depending on results elsewhere, and Hearts should be confident of a win here given their impressive record of seven consecutive wins against St Johnstone heading into this one.
As for the visitors, they have consistently been involved in the fight for survival in the last three seasons, winning the relegation playoff after finishing 11th in 2021-22, placing ninth in 2022-23 and 10th in 2023-24, only above the drop zone on goal difference.
Simo Valakari's men are once again poised to be fighting to extend their stay in the top flight this campaign, with the Saints currently sitting 17th in the table with just 14 points from 17 outings, after four wins, two draws and 11 defeats.
After losing six of their opening eight league fixtures, with one win and one draw, St Johnstone secured back-to-back wins against Ross County and Dundee in October, and although they won just one of the following seven matches, they have shown significant improvement in those games.
Of their five defeats in that time, the Saints have lost all bar one game by a single goal margin, with the exception being a 3-1 loss to St Mirren, while they have also held more possession in four of the five losses.
Now aiming to turn that control into victories as they hope to rise up the table and away from the drop zone, St Johnstone will look to secure a win against Hearts for the first time since February 2022.
Team News
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Hearts are set to be without Calem Nieuwenhof (hamstring), Frankie Kent (muscle), Gerald Taylor (knee) and Stephen Kingsley (hamstring) for this match due to injuries.
The Jambos have struggled for goals in the Scottish Premiership this season, with only Ross County (13) scoring less than their total of 18, and Critchley will be hoping a front-two of Lawrence Shankland and James Wilson can find their goalscoring form here.
St Johnstone are anticipated to be without the services of Andre Raymond (foot), Cameron MacPherson (hip), Sam McClelland (Achilles tendon) and Uche Ikpeazu for this match.
Despite dramatically losing 3-2 to St Mirren last time out, when the Saints conceded twice in the final minutes to throw away a 2-1 lead, Valakari could opt to name the same side here after a largely positive performance.
Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka ended his five-game goal drought in that match, taking his tally for the season to 11 across all competitions, and St Johnstone will be hoping his scoring form continues here.
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Oyegoke, Halkett, Rowles, Penrice; Forrest, Devlin, Tait, Dhanda; Shankland, Wilson
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Rae; Neilson, Sanders, Mikulic, Wright; Smith, Holt; Kirk, Clark, Mbunga-Kimpioka; Sidibeh
We say: Hearts 1-1 St Johnstone
These two sides have both shown signs of improvement since the arrival of their new managers, and with both fighting to climb from the bottom of the table, we expect this one to be an extremely tight encounter, leading us to believe it will end all square.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
