HEARTS begin life after Robbie Neilson with a trip to Leith for the capital derby with a Hibs side who are almost freefalling as much as them.
The Jambos took the surprising decision to bin Neilson despite a couple of Scottish Cup Final appearances and a European campaign. A horror run of four league defeats in a row and a Scottish Cup shelling from Celtic saw punters turn on Neilson rapidly.
They are somehow behind an Aberdeen side who lost 5-0 at Hearts and 6-0 to Hibs within a week in January and that was enough to see the Tynecastle board panic.
Steven Naismith has taken charge now and it will be interesting to see what kind of reaction he gets. He's already binned veteran former Scotland star Robert Snodgrass.
Hibs are on a desperate run of their own and manager Lee Johnson is under serious pressure with their own punters quickly running out of patience with a dismal campaign.
They've lost their last four games to Celtic and Rangers without laying a glove on them which wasn't unexpected and Motherwell and Dundee United which absolutely was.
Johnson appears to be unable to turn Hibs around and a poor Edinburgh derby record hasn't endeared him to the fans. Losing this could spell the end for him.
How the bookies view it
Home advantage sees Hibs made favourites across the board here and 27/20 is the best price you will get with Coral.
Hearts have all but been written off and they are 23/10 with bet365. The draw is 5/2 with UniBet.
Recent head to heads
Hearts beat Hibs home and away 3-0 on both occasions in the league and the Scottish Cup within 20 days in January.
They drew 1-1 in Leith back in August thanks to an injury time leveller from Martin Boyle.
Hibs haven't defeated Hearts at Easter Road for five years and are unbeaten in the last nine games between the sides.
Players to watch
Hibs could unleash Ukrainian hitman Mykola Kukharevych for a start after he netted last week at Tannadice. He has a decent record of five goals in ten starts for Hibs and is 9/5 with Paddy Power to score anytime.
Lawrence Shankland is on 22 goals for the season in all competitions, but is on a barren run of one goal in his last seven game. The Hearts skipper is 13/8 to score with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Hearts look far too big here against a bang-average Hibs side who must be lacking in confidence just like Hearts. They also seem to have the measure of Hibs anywhere recently.
The Jambos' options from the bench look stronger than Hibs and there's a sense that it wouldn't take much to get them moving in the right direction again, which Naismith will be banking on.
Hearts can take advantage of a leaky Hibs defence too. Back them to score at least two goals at 13/8 with UniBet.
Although this has been a traditionally low-scoring contest, don't be surprised if there are goals here with both teams starting quickly to try and lay down a marker. Take a chance at 10/3 with bet365 on both teams to score in the first half at 10/3 with bet365.
This Scottish Premiership match between Hibernian and Hearts will be played on Apr 15, 2023 and kick off at 12:30. 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.
