Edinburgh rivals Hibernian and Hearts will lock horns at Easter Road on Saturday, with interim manager Steven Naismith leading the visitors for the first time since Robbie Neilson's sacking.
Both Hibs and Hearts have lost each of their last four Scottish Premiership matches, giving the old foes extra motivation to claim the Auld Reekie bragging rights this weekend.
Match preview
Hibernian endured a run of nine defeats in 11 league outings between October and January before going seven games unbeaten, but Lee Johnson's men have fallen back into old habits of late.
Indeed, Hibs have lost each of their last four matches, conceding 11 goals along the way, with expected failures against Rangers and Celtic preceding disappointing defeats to Motherwell and Dundee United.
After suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Rangers and a 3-1 defeat to Celtic, Lee Johnson's men lost 3-1 against Motherwell before losing 2-1 at Dundee United last time out, despite dominating proceedings at Tannadice.
The Hibbies registered 15 shots while enjoying the lion's share of possession against Dundee United, but a 90th-minute penalty from Jamie McGrath saw the hosts snatch all three points.
Occupying sixth place in the Scottish Premiership table – five points behind fourth-placed Hearts – Hibs will be desperate to return to winning ways and reignite their bid for European football.
Robbie Neilson was sacked as Hearts manager following last weekend's 2-0 defeat to St Mirren, opening the door for Steven Naismith to take charge of the team on an interim basis.
It is fair to say that Naismith will need to hit the ground running in his new role if the Jam Tarts are to secure European football for next season, as the Tynecastle outfit have slipped down the standings in recent weeks.
Like Hibernian, Hearts have lost each of their last four Premiership encounters, with last month's Scottish Cup defeat to Celtic extending the club's winless run to five games across all competitions.
To make matters worse for Hearts, they have lost six of their previous eight league matches, conceding at least two goals in each of those defeats while failing to score on four occasions.
It is also worth pointing out that Hearts hold one of the worst away records in the division, having won just three of their 16 games on the road this season, with two draws and four losses coming in their last six away outings.
Team News
Hibernian will be without veteran winger Aiden McGeady for the foreseeable future as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, while fellow winger Martin Boyle is sidelined with a knee problem.
The hosts will also need to make do without Kyle Magennis and Rocky Bushiri, with the latter having sustained a broken ankle earlier this year.
Having racked up nine goals and five goals in all competitions this season, John Campbell will continue to support lone striker Kevin Nisbet, who has scored nine goals in 12 league appearances since returning from injury.
Hearts, on the other hand, will be without the suspended Robert Snodgrass this weekend, as the 35-year-old picked up a red card in last weekend's defeat to St Mirren.
On top of that, Beni Baningime, Liam Boyce and Craig Halkett are all sidelined with knee issues, while goalkeeper Craig Gordon and winger Gary Mackay-Steven are also out injured.
Ross Stewart is expected to keep his place between the sticks, although Steven Naismith will be tempted to shake things up as he attempts to find a winning formula.
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Cadden, Fish, Egan-Riley, Cabraja; Jeggo, Newell; McKirdy, Campbell, Youan; Nisbet
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Stewart; Smith, Hill, Rowels, Kingsley; Devlin, Halliday; Forrest, Humphrys, Grant; Shankland
We say: Hibernian 2-2 Hearts
Having both lost each of their last four league games, Hibernian and Hearts will be eager to stop the rot this weekend, so we can see the arch-rivals sharing the points in an entertaining Edinburgh derby.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
