HIBS and Hearts meet for a Scottish Cup cracker on Sunday and the money has all been on the Jambos this week.
The two capital rivals have played plenty of epic encounters in recent years. Hearts' famously beat Hibs 5-1 and 4-0 in the final and semi-final at Hampden and have also won the last three meetings between the sides, with two of those also semi-finals in Glasgow too.
But Hibs' sweetest triumph in recent years came when they finally ended a 114-year hoodoo and won the Scottish Cup in 2016. In an earlier round, they were 2-0 down with ten minutes to play at Tynecastle only to score twice, win the replay and go on to beat Rangers in the final.
But that was then and this is now and while Hibs started the week as favourites, presumably down to home advantage, many firms now make Hearts favourites after their 5-0 midweek thumping of Aberdeen – who had been thought to be their main rivals for third.
Hibs boss Lee Johnson's prospects continue to be hazy, but he does at least have one huge asset in his favour -an on-fire Kevin Nisbet who has scored seven goals in his last six games since returning from a long-term knee injury.
How the bookies view it
As stated, Hearts have been the subject of a fair old gamble this week and at present, you can still get 8/5 with Paddy Power, although that might not last.
Hibs have drifted and can now be backed at 13/8 with Coral, but the Gorgie side are favourites now with most firms. The draw is 5/2 with Betfred.
Recent head to heads
Hearts cruised to a 3-0 success against Hibs a few weeks ago and were denied a win at Easter Road earlier in the season by an injury time leveller from Martin Boyle, who is out for the season.
Players to watch
Nisbet has looked brilliant since his comeback and has carried Hibs. He will be popular at 21/10 with Paddy Power to score.
Lawrence Shankland is battling it out to be top scorer in the league and will fancy this. He is 6/4 to score with bet365 after seven goals in his last seven games.
Anything else catch the eye?
Hearts have looked by far the better side in the two meetings this season, are on a roll, have won five out of seven and kept clean sheets in two of their last three games. They are also 11 points better off despite being hindered by European football earlier this season.
So it's no surprise that the money has come for the Gorgie side and that could prove to be sensible.
If Hearts can stop Nisbet, it's hard to see Hibs laying much of a glove on this Hearts side who have got into the habit of winning without reaching peak form – they weren't even close to their best when hammering Aberdeen in midweek.
Hibs have conceded 11 goals in their last three games and defensively they look very vulnerable. Back Hearts to score two goals or more at 6/5 with McBookie.com.
Finally, both sides have struggled to win corners recently – there were only seven in their last meeting recently and both sides have only reached five corners once in their last four matches. Try bet365's 5/4 for under 10.5 corners.
This Scottish Cup match between Hibernian and Hearts will be played on Jan 22, 2023 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Hibernian vs Hearts prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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