Hearts have the chance to go above Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership when the sides meet in the capital on Saturday.
Neil Critchley's side have mounted a real recovery operation in recent weeks after that dismal start to the season, but they are certainly not out of the woods yet.
They remain in the relegation play-off spot of second bottom although they have now built a nine point cushion on seemingly-doomed St Johnstone.
They've lost just once in their last nine games in all competitions although it was a really painful one when Hibs won at Tynecastle.
In their last three league games, they've beaten Motherwell and won away at in-form Dundee United, while they were denied a win at Aberdeen after missing a penalty injury time.
Last week, they survived a scare at Highland League Brechin City when they went a goal down in the Scottish Cup before recovering to win 4-1.
Killie put up a decent show at Celtic before exiting the competition 2-1 after a controversial goal. League wise they have struggled for any consistency really.
And they have lost seven of their 11 games on their travels this season too.
How the bookies view it: Hosts Hearts odds-on good things
Hearts are 20/23 with Boylesports to continue their recent revival with a win. The Ayrshire side can be backed at 11/4 and the draw is 12/5 with the same firm.
Recent head to heads: Killie are bogey team for Hearts
Hearts have something to prove here because Killie have already beaten them home and away this season including their last game at Rugby Park last month when the hosts won despite having to play for 84 minutes with ten men.
Killie are unbeaten in the last four meetings.
Players to watch: Elton's Rocket can fire up Hearts
Elton Kabangu introduced himself to Hearts fans last week with a double against Brechin and the on-loan Union Saint-Gilloise striker looks a handful. He is 15/8 to score anytime with Boylesports and there could be some value there.
Bobby Wales has made an impressive impact for Killie this season and the 19-year-old scored at Celtic last week. He is 10/3 to score anytime with Boylesports.
Predicted line-ups:
Hearts could hand a debut to new signing Michael Steinwender, but they are still expected to be without Lawrence Shankland, Calum Nieuwenhof, Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley
Killie have problems with keeper Robby McCrorie fracturing an eye socket and captain Brad Lyons and Rory McKenzie both injured. Stuart Findlay is a long-term casualty.
Hearts: Gordon, Forrester, Halkett, McCart, Penrice, Devlin, Baningime, Grant, Dhanda, Wilson, Kabangu.
Kilmarnock: O'Hara, Mayo, Wright, Deas, Magennis, Polwarth, Donnelly, Ndaba, Murray, Wales, Watkins.
Anything else catch the eye?
Hearts are looking far more solid in recent weeks and there's even an argument for saying they have played better without captain and last season's talisman Lawrence Shankland.
They should have too much for an injury-depleted Killie side and they have a bit of depth to their squad now too.
A home win is the call, but Killie will have a go and have plenty of attacking options themselves.
Go for both teams to score and a Hearts win at 3/1 with Boylesports.
This Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Kilmarnock will be played on Jan 25, 2025 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Hearts vs Kilmarnock prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
