In the second game of the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season, Hearts will travel to the Kilmac Stadium at Dens Park to face up against Dundee, with both teams searching for their first win.
The hosts drew 2-2 with rivals Dundee United in their league opener, while the visitors held out for a well-deserved point against Rangers last weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
After being promoted as champions of the Scottish Championship in the first attempt in 2022-23, Dundee would have been delighted with their sixth-place finish last season, earning them a place in the championship round.
They did face difficulties in the post-split season though, failing to win any of their five matches and adding just a single point to their overall tally to leave them with 42 points from 38 games.
Tony Docherty's side have vastly improved since the end of the 2023-24 campaign, winning three of their four friendlies, followed by victories in all four of their Group D fixtures in the Scottish League Cup.
That form would have left them confident of securing three points in their opening Scottish Premiership outing against their rivals Dundee United, who were promoted into the division last year, but they were only able to take a point home.
That 2-2 draw continued last season's trend of scoring and conceding plenty of goals, conceding 68 - the second highest in the league - and scoring 49, and Docherty will be eager to improve on those statistics this time around.
As for Hearts, they have impressively finished in the top four in each of the three seasons since being promoted back into the top flight as champions of the second division in 2020-21.
Steven Naismith, who has been in charge of the side since April 2023, would have been disappointed with how they concluded the last campaign, winning just one of their last six matches, and that form has seemingly continued into the new term.
Hearts fell to defeats in all three of their pre-season fixtures against Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur and Fleetwood Town, but they did manage a draw in their opening game of the season against Rangers in a confidence-building performance.
Naismith's men took 19 shots to Rangers' 19 despite having just 37% of the ball, a promising sign for a Hearts side that will have ambitions of closing the gap on the top two this year.
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Team News
© Reuters
The hosts will be without Charlie Reilly, Clark Robertson and Joe Shaughnessy for this game with the trio not expected to return to the side until later this month.
Last season's star performer, Luke McCowan, scored 10 and assisted five, and the midfielder is already off the mark this campaign with a penalty goal against Dundee United.
Having avoided any injury concerns against Rangers a week ago, the only absentees for Hearts will be Beni Baningime and Calem Nieuwenhof, who will not make their return to the side until late August.
Malachi Boateng joined the club from Crystal Palace earlier in the window and could be in line for his first start after coming off the bench for the final 10 minutes against Rangers.
Dundee possible starting lineup:
McCracken; Portales, McGhee, Graham; Ingram, Cameron, Sylla, McCowan, Larkeche; Murray, Palmer-Houlden
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Clark; Taylor, Kent, Rowles, Penrice; Devlin, Boateng; Dhanda, Shankland, McKay; Vargas
We say: Dundee 1-3 Hearts
Hearts have enjoyed recent success in this fixture, winning the last three encounters and scoring three goals in each match, and we believe this game will follow a similar pattern, with the visitors securing a win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
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