Aberdeen will be attempting to get themselves into the top half of the table on Wednesday when they travel to face Hearts in their latest Scottish Premiership fixture.
The Dons have drawn their previous three outings, while the hosts put a four-game run without a win in the league to an end at the weekend, which the Jambos will be looking to continue on from.
Match preview
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Hearts got back to winning ways on Saturday when they defeated St Mirren by two goals to nil, with Ellis Simms and Cameron Devlin getting themselves on the scoresheet.
The three points was something the club needed following four games without a victory, and that is a situation they will now want to continue heading into their midweek encounter.
The Jambos are comfortably in third place right now, with an 11-point gap between themselves and the chasing pack, but they will not want to allow that to shrink.
Robbie Neilson's team have been impressive at home throughout this campaign, having only lost three matches so far in front of their own fans, which will provide confidence to the group.
However, Hearts have failed to win either of their previous encounters with Aberdeen this season, having drawn and lost in those games, which is something they will aim to put right here.
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The Dons have been consistent as of late due to the fact their last three games have all ended in 1-1, with the latest taking place this past weekend against Dundee United.
An own goal from Ryan Edwards provided them with the point, but considering how tight things are in the middle of the table, the club will be needing more than that.
A victory has the potential to lift them into the top half depending on other results, while a loss could see them slump into 10th place, which would start to raise concerns in regards to relegation.
Only Dundee have a worse record away from home this season, with the Dons having won just twice on the road, and that has been a problem for them throughout the campaign.
After eight games without a win, Aberdeen will need to turn things around at some point to get their season back on track, and considering their impressive performances against Hearts in this campaign, the squad shall be hoping this is the night.
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Team News
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Goalkeeper Craig Gordon and striker Liam Boyce both made their returns to the Hearts starting lineup following positive COVID-19 results, and they will retain their places in the team.
Craig Halkett also returned to the back three following a hamstring problem, and after keeping a clean sheet at the weekend, he is unlikely to miss out.
Jim Goodwin kept his faith in Christian Ramirez up front for Aberdeen at the weekend, and the striker is expected to lead the line once more on Wednesday.
The Dons were without Scott Brown, Jonny Hayes, Calvin Ramsay, Jack MacKenzie and Ross McCrorie on Saturday, with only five players being able to make the bench due to injuries and COVID-19 related issues.
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Kingsley, Halkett, Souttar; Mackay-Steven, Devlin, Baningime, Atkinson; McKay, Woodburn, Boyce
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; McLennan, Gallagher, Bates, Montgomery; Ojo, Barron; Besuijen, Ferguson, Kennedy; Ramirez
We say: Hearts 2-0 Aberdeen
Aberdeen have been churning out consistent draws recently, and that is something that will provide them with some confidence that they can continue battling in any game.
However, Hearts have the stronger team and they will be hoping to pick up back-to-back victories on Wednesday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hearts win with a probability of 54.81%. A draw had a probability of 23.7% and a win for Aberdeen had a probability of 21.54%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hearts win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.82%) and 2-1 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.24%), while for an Aberdeen win it was 0-1 (6.47%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Hearts in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Hearts.
