HEARTS have swapped rollercoaster rides for grinding out wins in their last couple of games and may need to dig deep once more against Queen of the South on a hard Palmerston pitch.
The Jambos have been great entertainers for most of this campaign with goals galore at both ends of the pitch, delighting punters who put on BTTS accumulators.
But Robbie Neilson's men have shown another side to their character of late, edging out Dunfermline and Ayr with 1-0 wins that were far from easy on the eye.
That's exactly what they need to seal a speedy return to the Premiership and a trip to Dumfries in the depths of winter will be another test of their resolve, if the match beats the big freeze.
Queens are fighting for their lives at the other end of the table, with a weekend defeat at bottom dogs Alloa leaving them just three points above the Wasps.
I fancied the Doonhamers to win at the Indodrill as they went there on the back of a five-match unbeaten run but instead they crashed to a damaging defeat. So boss Allan Johnston will demand a reaction as he bids to shoot down his old club.
Recent head to head
You have to go all the way back to 1964 to find the last Queen of the South win in this fixture, a run of 16 games without defeat for the Jambos. Hearts have won the last eight, including a 6-1 triumph at Tynecastle earlier this season (below). But one of those games was a 3-3 thriller in the Scottish Cup that the Tynecastle men edged on penalties.
Players to watch
Jamie Walker has netted five goals from midfield is always worth considering for anytime scorer as his odds are longer than the Hearts strikers. He's 2/1 with McBookie for a goal and that's worth a punt.
Connor Shields has been the main man for Queens this term but was forced off injured against Alloa in the first half. He was replaced by Rangers loanee Dapo Mebude who is 16/5 with Paddy Power for a goal. That's good value if he starts.
Anything else catch the eye?
I backed the second period to be the highest-scoring half when Hearts travelled to Ayr and that bet came up. It pays 97/100 with TonyBet here and could come up again if the Jambos take time to warm up.
The conditions could turn this into another scrap so I'm drawn to the 7/5 on offer at TonyBet for under 2.5 goals while betting against BTTS pays 23/20 at BetVictor.
Queens midfielder Daniel Pybus has collected three yellows in his last four games so looks good value to be carded here at 5/2 with McBookie.
This Scottish Championship match between Queen of the South and Heart of Midlothian will be played on Feb 12, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Queen of the South vs Heart of Midlothian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In theAlloa v QOS match Isaiah Jones on loan from Middlesboro looked Queens livliest player especially afteer Shields went off injured he scored and had a few chances ,With Shields Dobbie McKee and Fitzpatrick out its not going to leave them with much of a team , looks like it will be Medupe up front on his own Jones in behind him I can see Hearts getting a few and a few Queens midfielders getting booked , going to have a bit on Isaiah Jones AGS at 13/2 pp/bf
Looking forward to catching a glimpse of Jones tonight. Hearts’ defence is still a bit dicey so he could get a bit of joy
Looked like Jones was going to make the difference by winning that penalty but Hearts got out of jail at the end