Hearts
- Hearts have lost only once in their last five matches, winning three times.
- Hearts sit at the top of the Premiership table with 51 points from 23 games, while Saint Mirren are down in tenth with just 19 points from 22.
- Derek McInnes has made a remarkable impact at Hearts since his appointment in May, quickly putting his own stamp on the team and getting them to play a more proactive, fluid style of soccer in either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system.
- The Jambos play with a higher tempo than most teams in Scotland and have an aggressive pressing game to win the ball back in dangerous areas and then look to control the match through positional fluidity.
St. Mirren
- St. Mirren have drawn their last two matches, both away from home, and failed to win their most recent home fixture.
- Saint Mirren’s structure under Stephen Robinson, who took over as manager in February 2022, is still based on disciplined defending and pragmatic, counter-attacking soccer with a 3-5-2/5-3-2 shape.
- The Buddies’ players are always well drilled and will provide a stern test to Hearts’ pressing game on Tuesday, but there is nothing particularly eye-catching about what they do when they have the ball.
Head-to-Head
- The Buddies won 6-5 at home in the League Cup five months ago and will fancy their chances of making this a close game again given the contrasting styles.
- The two meetings at St. Mirren have averaged 3.7 goals for the hosts and 4.0 for Hearts in the last five, which stands out compared with their season numbers.
Key Players
- Lawrence Shankland is the talisman with 11 Premiership goals in 21 appearances, but his clinical finishing and movement make him a constant threat whether Hearts are on the break or in their structured attacking phase.
- The hosts’ leading scorer is Mikael Mandron, who has bagged four Premiership goals in 22 appearances, and their best chance of finding the net in this clash will come from his hold-up play and aerial threat in the box on set-pieces and counter-attacks.
Betting Insights
The under 2.5 goals market at 1.77 is tempting, but a glance at the head-to-head record for this fixture suggests that might not be the case.
Prediction
A Hearts win is the main selection for this game at 1.73 , while St. Mirren are a long shot at 4.91 .
