Hearts will provide the opposition to Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday. The visitors have recorded two wins against us earlier this season, can we turn the tables?
Both teams enjoyed important midweek wins and they will take to the pristine pitch in confident mood. Motherwell’s win in Dingwall resulted in a move up the table to sixth place while Hearts trouncing of Rangers has them ten points ahead in fourth.
Hearts were last at Fir Park in September
Scott McDonald’s red card from last weekend has been confirmed by the SFA Disciplinary Tribunal and he’ll have to serve a two match suspension. That gap in our forward line will force a change to our normal striking setup.
Enter Stephen Pearson. The return of Pearson will give the manager another option. We are familiar with his powerful runs from midfield and it’s possible that he may appear on Saturday in support of Moult and, possibly Bowman. He has not started a game since the Indian season finished six weeks ago so a starting place would be a surprise.
McGhee reckons “we have as strong a squad as at any time this season and are in as good form as at any time this season”.
Which eleven will appear for Hearts is an unknown. They had a very active transfer window and introduced a couple of new faces on Wednesday. Regardless of the choices made by Cathro we can be sure of a tough game.
Although the meetings in September and November saw the points go to Edinburgh, both teams will be very different this time. We may also see a different result and a 2-2 draw might result.