Scottish Premiership leaders Heart of Midlothian welcome Rangers to Tynecastle Park on Sunday.
Hearts sit six points clear at the summit, with fourth-placed Rangers nine points adrift. Rangers will view this as a pivotal opportunity to narrow the gap and keep their title ambitions alive.
Hearts vs Rangers – Match preview and team news
- Date: Sunday, 21st December.
- Kick-off: 1:30pm BST.
- Venue: Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh.
Hearts team news
Hearts continue to be without several players due to injury concerns. Striker Pierre Landry Kabore is unavailable as he links up with Burkina Faso for the Africa Cup of Nations, while midfielder Beni Baningime, defender Calem Nieuwenhof, goalkeeper Ageu and defender Finlay Pollock all remain sidelined through injury.
Manager Derek McInnes provided an injury update ahead of the clash, remaining hopeful that Baningime and Nieuwenhof could potentially be involved in the matchday squad.
Rangers team news
Rangers will be without several players through injury. Bailey Rice, Derek Cornelius, John Souttar, Nedim Bajrami, Oliver Antman and Rabbi Matondo are all ruled out through injury issues. Additionally, midfielder Lyall Cameron is unavailable for selection.
Importantly, striker Bojan Miovski, who was forced off during Rangers’ 2-1 Europa League defeat to Ferencvárosi earlier this month, is a significant doubt. However, positive news emerged as Miovski was spotted back in training with the first-team squad during Tuesday’s recovery session, marking real progress in his recovery.
Manager Danny Röhl will likely have Clinton Nsiala make his first Scottish Premiership start of the season alongside Emmanuel Fernandez in central defence, while Jayden Meghoma and James Tavernier could operate at full-back.
Form
Hearts
Derek McInnes’ side have demonstrated exceptional form to sit atop the Scottish Premiership table. After bouncing back from a four-game run without a victory, Hearts have secured back-to-back wins against Celtic and Falkirk. The victory over Celtic came at Parkhead, with goals from Claudio Braga and Oisin McEntee securing a 2-1 triumph. Hearts subsequently extended their lead to six points clear at the top with the 2-0 win over Falkirk.
Rangers
The Gers picked up a crucial 1-0 victory over Hibernian on Monday, with Emmanuel Fernandez scoring the winning goal. They are unbeaten in the league for nine straight matches but the last time they lost a league match was against Hearts in the reverse fixture.
Predicted lineups
Hearts: Schwolow; Steinwender, Halkett, Findlay, Milne; McEntee, Devlin; Kyziridis, Magnusson, Braga; Shankland
Rangers: Butland; Tavernier, Nsiala, Fernandez, Meghoma; Barron, Raskin; Moore, Diomande, Gassama; Chermiti
How to watch Hearts vs Rangers?
UK fans can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.
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