Preview: Hearts vs. Aberdeen - prediction, team news, lineups

The Edinburgh outfit are currently eighth in the Scottish Premiership table with four points, while Aberdeen are 11th, having only picked up two points from their opening four matches of the season.

Match preview

Hearts finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership last season, which saw them secure a spot in the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

Steven Naismith's side beat Rosenborg 4-3 on aggregate to advance to the playoffs, but they lost home and away to PAOK, with their journey in Europe already coming to an end.

Hearts have also lost their last two Scottish Premiership matches to Dundee and Motherwell, with a total of four points from four matches leaving them down in eighth position in the table.

Naismith's team have another three league games before the end of the month, facing Aberdeen, St Mirren and Ross County, while they will also take on Kilmarnock in the League Cup.

Hearts beat Aberdeen 2-1 in the last meeting between the two sides in May, while they also thumped Saturday's opponents 5-0 on home soil earlier this year.

Aberdeen, meanwhile, finished third in the Scottish Premiership last season, which saw them book their spot in the Europa League playoff round.

The Dons were unable to navigate their way past Hacken, losing 5-3 on aggregate, but they will compete in the group stage of the Europa Conference League, with their Group G campaign starting against Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt next week.

Barry Robson's side have struggled in the league this season, only picking up two points from their opening four matches, which has left them down in 11th position in the table.

Aberdeen's two losses have come to Celtic and Hibernian, while they are winless since overcoming Stirling Albion in the League Cup in the middle of August.

The Reds have not actually beaten Hearts away during the regular Scottish Premiership season since December 2016, which is an indication of the size of their task in this match.

Hearts Scottish Premiership form:

D

D

W

D

L

L

Hearts form (all competitions):

W

W

L

L

L

L

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

W

L

D

L

D

L

Aberdeen form (all competitions):

L

W

D

D

L

L

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Team News

Hearts will be without the services of three players for this weekend's contest, with Barrie McKay, Craig Halkett and Craig Gordon on the sidelines through injury.

Head coach Naismith is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the home defeat to Motherwell before the international break.

However, there could be a couple of alterations, with Toby Sibbick likely to come in for Alex Lowry, while Kyosuke Tagawa might replace Yutaro Oda in a wide area.

Aberdeen, meanwhile, will be without Shayden Morris, as the attacker was replaced just 15 minutes after entering the field against Hibernian last time out after picking up a hamstring issue.

Morris is facing up to three months on the sidelines, head coach Robson has confirmed, while on-loan Liverpool defender Rhys Williams is out of action with an ankle injury.

Bojan Miovski is the team's leading goalscorer in the league this season with two, and the 24-year-old will again feature in the final third of the field for the visitors.

Hearts possible starting lineup:

Clark; Atkinson, Kent, Rowles, Cochrane; Devlin, Haring; Tagawa, Boyce, Sibbick; Shankland

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Roos; MacDonald, Rubezic, Jensen; Devlin, Barron, Shinnie, McGarry; McGrath; Miovski, Duk

We say: Hearts 1-1 Aberdeen

It would not be a surprise to see a home or indeed an away victory in this match, as both sides are better than what they have shown already this season. We are finding it difficult to back Aberdeen due to their away struggles against Hearts, though, and have instead settled on a low-scoring draw here.

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