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

However, the visitors will arrive to the capital on a six-match unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership.

Match preview

Indeed, Hearts have been on one hell of a run in recent months, winning 12 of their last 15 league games to cement themselves in third position in the table. Steven Naismith's side trail the Glasgow giants by 13 points, while holding a 12-point lead ahead of fourth-placed Kilmarnock.

The former Rangers and Everton forward, who ended his playing career with Hearts three years ago, was handed his first managerial job when replacing Robbie Neilson last April. He boasts an impressive 54% win rate from his 41 matches in charge in all competitions, including a comfortable 4-1 victory away to Airdrieonians in the FA Cup last weekend.

Goals from Lawrence Shankland, Kenneth Vargas and Calem Nieuwenhof gave the visitors a three-goal cushion inside the opening 21 minutes at Excelsior Stadium. They will travel to Greenock Morton at the quarter-final stage in early March, with the Jam Tarts hoping to win their first trophy since lifting the FA Cup for the eighth time in the 2011-12 campaign.

They will almost certainly end the season in third place for the second time in three seasons, which represents excellent progress having been relegated as recently as 2020. As such, they can look forward to another Europa League adventure, as they look to make it 11 wins from 12 games in all competitions against Motherwell on Saturday.

The visitors should have secured a win in midweek themselves, but they somehow threw away a three-goal lead away to Aberdeen on Wednesday evening, meaning that the two sides remained level on points after sharing the spoils in an enthralling 3-3 draw.

Theo Bair bagged a brace inside the opening 22 minutes before Adam Devine extended the visitors' lead four minutes later, but Aberdeen's interim boss Neil Warnock showed his experience and boldness by making a double change on the hour mark. Duk made an instant impact by pulling one back, before Stefan Gartenmann's effort cut Motherwell's lead down to one goal prior to the break.

Duk completed the comeback less than five minutes after half time, with both sides appearing to settle for a point apiece in the end. Overall, while head coach Stuart Kettlewell will have been gutted that his side could not see their lead out, he will be pleased with their response to last weekend's disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greenock Morton in the FA Cup.

Having remained in Scotland's top flight ever since gaining promotion in the 1984-85 season, Kettlewell will be determined to ensure that they are not dragged into a relegation battle. With a seven-point gap in front of 11th-placed Ross County - who they recently thrashed 5-0 at Fir Park - the Steelmen should be fine, but another positive result in Edinburgh this weekend would do no harm to their chances of beating the drop.

Hearts Scottish Premiership form:

D

W

W

W

W

W

Hearts form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

W

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

W

D

D

D

W

D

Motherwell form (all competitions):

W

D

D

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L

D

Team News

Hearts are expected to remain without Barrie McKay and Peter Haring due to knee injuries, while Liam Boyce is unlikely to return from a muscle strain. However, Naismith should have the trio available for selection again within the next few weeks.

The 37-year-old only made three changes for his side's comfortable win against Airdrieonians in the cup last time out, and he will almost certainly restore first-choice goalkeeper Zander Clark between the posts after handing veteran stopper Craig Gordon an opportunity against their Championship opponents.

Motherwell, meanwhile, will not be able to field loanee Andy Halliday against his parent club. They will also remain without Adam Montgomery and Callum Slattery, who are both out for the season de to hamstring and knee issues respectively.

Kettlewell may be concerned about mental and physical fatigue after throwing away a three-goal lead away to Aberdeen less than 72 hours prior to this fixture, so the likes of Stephen O'Donnell, Jonathan Obika and Sam Nicholson may be in contention to start after coming off the bench at Pittodrie.

Hearts possible starting lineup:

Clark; Lembikisa, Kent, Kingsley, Cochrane; Nieuwenhof, Baningime; Vargas, Fraser, Forrest; Shankland

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Kelly; Mugabi, Butcher, McGinn; O'Donnell, Zdravkovski, Paton, Spittal, Gent; Vale, Bair

We say: Hearts 2-1 Motherwell

Hearts have been on a tremendous run in recent months, collecting 25 points from a possible 27 in their last nine league outings. They will be confident of stretching their winning streak on Saturday.

However, Motherwell are tough to beat, with only Rangers getting the better of them across their last nine matches. We can envisage them giving it a good go against their third-placed opposition, but tiredness could count against them after their midweek involvements.

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