Heart of Midlothian

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Hibs will have Chris Cadden and Warren O'Hora back after they missed last weekend's draw at Dundee United.

Jordan Obita, Miguel Chaiwa and Rocky Bushiri are on international duty while Rudi Molotnikov (ankle) is still recovering from injury.

Hearts welcome back Harry Milne after suspension while Craig Halkett is set to return after missing the win over Rangers with a minor injury.

Landry Kabore is on international duty while Calem Nieuwenhof, Ageu and Finlay Pollock (all hamstring) are expected to remain sidelined.

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Stephen Kingsley says Hearts' title challenge this season is "extra special" because he and fellow long-serving players have been through plenty of bad times at the club.

Left-back Kingsley, who moved to Tynecastle in 2020, has experienced highs and lows along with the likes of Craig Halkett, Cammy Devlin, Beni Baningime and Lawrence Shankland.

Hearts are now six points clear at the top, with Hibs awaiting in the derby at Easter Road on Saturday.

"The boys that have been here for a while, obviously we've had great occasions, great moments, great seasons where we've finished where we wanted to finish," Kingsley said.

"We've hit objectives, we've played in Europe, we've had cup runs, and we've had a lot of disappointments in that as well.

"We've had down moments where it has been very difficult, but you talk about the spine of the team, that core group of players, we've always stuck together, we've always believed in each other that we can do something special.

"To be on this run just now, to have had that start to the season and something to build on going into the new year and something to strive for - something that many people probably wouldn't have expected at the beginning of the campaign - it's brilliant.

"And it's extra special doing it with the boys that I've been with for five or six years now."

As Hearts prepare to face rivals Hibs on Saturday - the 150th anniversary of the first Edinburgh derby - Kingsley admits belief his growing that his side can end the season as champions.

"I think the potential, absolutely," he said. "We've always had belief in what we can do, we've believed that we can have a special season.

"You don't know how that's going to be, no one can look into the future, so it's just about setting ourselves targets that we can hit and obviously the longer that goes on then we can start looking forward.

"But Hibs is such a massive game, I think it would be stupid for anyone to think of anything further on than that.

"We've not done that so far and it's worked pretty well for us, so why do it now?

"Let's just concentrate on what's ahead of us in this festive period and then look into January and just try and keep that feeling going, because we know if we can hopefully get that win against Hibs at Easter Road, it's another step in the right direction."

As the Edinburgh rivals prepare to slug it out on derby day, take a saunter down memory lane and revisit a couple of classics.

First up is Hibs' 7-0 rout of Hearts in the new year derby of 1973, followed by the Jambos dishing out a 5-1 thrashing in 2012 to lift the Scottish Cup.

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Craig Halkett is thrilled to have signed a Hearts contract extension after overcoming some "tough" injury-ravaged years to become a mainstay under Derek McInnes this season.

The 30-year-old centre-back has committed his future to the Tynecastle club until summer 2028.

Halkett has made 159 appearances since joining from Livingston in 2019, scoring five goals for the league leaders this season.

"I'm delighted," Halkett told Hearts TV.

"It's a great feeling for me and my family. I've been here a long time, and I'm just delighted that I've got another couple of years here now, so I'm buzzing.

"Back when I signed in 2019, it's been a bit up and down, but the last few years have been tough with injury and stuff like that, but I feel like this year, I've come back and I'm in a good place.

"The team is in a good place. The whole building's feeling good at the moment, so it's a great place to be.

"I said back in the summer, it was one of my main aims at the start of the season, to come back in great shape and play as many games as I could, to try and earn a new contract. Like I said, the last few years have been tough.

"I hadn't played anywhere near as many games as I wanted to play, so it was important this summer to go away, work hard, come back in the best shape I possibly could and start the season well and, thankfully, I've done that."

Hearts midfielder Beni Baningime, whose contract at Tynecastle expires in the summer, says there have been no talks yet over a new deal. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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• Hibs won their last home Edinburgh derby against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership 2-1 in March, but haven't won successive home matches against their rivals in the top flight since March 2018 under Neil Lennon.

• After their 1-0 win in October, Hearts are looking to win back-to-back Premiership matches against Hibs for the first time since April 2014. Indeed, Derek McInnes could be the first Hearts boss to win both of his first two top-flight Edinburgh derbies in charge of the club since Paulo Sergio in 2011-12 (first 3).

• Excluding when they were relegated in 2020, Hearts haven't lost their final Premiership game of a calendar year since 2016 (1-0 v Aberdeen), going unbeaten in seven since (W3 D4), a run which includes a 1-0 win at Easter Road in 2018.

• Hibs have only lost two of their past 20 home matches in the Premiership (W12 D6), with those two defeats both being by a single goal, against Rangers (1-0 in October) and Celtic (2-1 in November).

• Since Hibs were promoted in 2017, Hearts' Lawrence Shankland is the top scoring player in league derbies between the two sides with five goals. However, Shankland hasn't scored in any of the past four league contests between Hibs and Hearts, last netting in this fixture in February 2024.

Hearts are close to a deal for Dutch defender Jordi Altena, agreeing a fee in the region of £500,000 with RKC Waalwijk for the 22-year-old. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

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Hearts boss Derek McInnes has been hugely impressed with his squad's mentality as he prepares for a "couple" of January exits.

The Tynecastle club are six points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and have only lost one of their 18 games so far this season.

While McInnes has been grateful for the depth of his squad he stressed he won't stand in the way of players searching for game time elsewhere.

"We've got a few players out on loan and it's important for us if they're not getting minutes in our first team then we try to find them that game time," the former Kilmarnock boss said.

"The squad has been outstanding in terms of how they've approached their work, supportive of the team even if they're not in it. They're as good a bunch of boys that I've ever worked with.

"It helps when you're winning games and it's easy to be happy when you're involved all the time, not so easy when you're not involved as much as you'd like but I've never seen any hint of that.

"I think it goes without saying that there might be a couple of lads keen to move out in January and look to get more regular football. These conversations are always ongoing."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hearts manager Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Saturday's trip to Hibernian.

Here are the main points:

• Derek McInnes wouldn't confirm interest in Dutch defender Jorge Altena but admits "until these things, or any players that we're linked with, are done, it's difficult for me to comment on."

• The Hearts manager adds that, all being well, Khazakstan International Islam Chesnokov will be available for their home match against Livingston on 3 January but stresses "for all that to play out might be a big ask but certainly working towards that if we can."

• McInnes says the current group of players is "as good a bunch of boys that I've worked with, and I always pride myself on having a strong dressing room and a happy dressing room, and that's what we've got here."

• But the former Kilmarnock boss admits "there might be a couple of lads that would be keen to maybe move out in January and look to get more regular football."

• He insists "conversations are always ongoing" on that front.

• Looking back on his first six months in charge of Hearts, McInnes says it has been "really enjoyable."

• Team news: Claudio Braga suffered a knock against Rangers but should be fine for the weekend while Craig Halkett is back training and should also be fit for the trip to Easter Road.

Greg Playfair
Fan writer

I am starting to think that every 20 years, Santa Claus likes to bring Jambos belief that a League title win is possible.

It's mad to think that our great attempts in 1985/86 and in 2005/06, are all exactly two decades apart but the hope is starting to turn into expectation in some Gorgie quarters that it will be third time lucky.

We're almost at the official halfway mark in the season, and if you reflect on it, things couldn't have gone any better for Derek McInnes and the team. The only negative you could bring up, is the League Cup defeat on penalties to St Mirren but I think that is harsh given that that exit has allowed us to focus all our efforts on league business.

If you were to make a half-season team of the campaign for all the sides in the top flight, the question is, how many Motherwell players would get into the Hearts XI?

Alexander Schwolow would be the best keeper, despite a recent upturn in form from Motherwell's Calum Ward, who made a few gaffes earlier this year.

Three of the back four pick itself with Harry Milne, Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay all in the team. The debatable question is who you'd select at right-back? Which, ironically enough, has been a troubling position for Hearts and McInnes to manage so far. I'd bend the rules slightly and put Josh Mulligan in there given the midfield options.

The player of the season, Cammy Devlin, is an absolute must pick in the midfield, and I'd slot in Motherwell's Elijah Just alongside him, given his performances in claret and amber. I'd select his teammate Tawanda Maswanhise for a wide berth, with Alexandros Kyziridis on the other flank.

Up top, you must select the Premiership's top goalscorers in Claudio Braga and Lawrence Shankland, who have the best partnership in the country and their numbers are now proving that.

I think it says a lot that no Celtic or Rangers player would get talked about for being in contention for that form team and it shows how consistent Hearts have been since the first kick of the season.

Of course, form goes out of the window in an Edinburgh Derby week and the trip to Easter Road to face Hibs will capture attention from out with the Capital. I don't think there will be just eyes from Scottish football fans, but further afield too, as there's now encouragement from neutrals across Europe, and beyond, for us to keep up the pace that we have set.

If there's one team that want to burst this goodwill bubble more than most, it's David Gray's Hibs.

It's strange, I'm going into this game optimistic of our chances of getting all three points in Leith but let's not kid ourselves, Hibs players and supporters will treat this as their cup final.

If Hibs manage pick up all three points on Saturday, I'd expect them to go on an open top bus parade down Leith Walk on the Sunday the way some of my Hibee supporting mates are expecting this game to go.

We have to go into Saturday and have the belief that we will win the game. It's not an arrogance, it's a confidence teams that are top of their league need to have.

Edinburgh derbies are rarely thrillers when there is an expectation placed on them, and the safe bet would be to think it will finish 0-0.

I am hoping it's a five-goal thriller and that we will edge it, as we look to believe that our 60 year wait to win the league can soon be over.

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Stuart Findlay says it's an "honour" to be in the title mix as he urged his Hearts team-mates to embrace the pressure of trying to stay at the summit.

Derek McInnes' side are preparing for a derby showdown with Hibs at Easter Road on Saturday after an impressive 2-1 win over Rangers.

Former Kilmarnock defender Findlay said: "I'd rather have the challenge of these big games when we're up at the top end of the league rather than where the club was last year [in the bottom six] and where I was with Kilmarnock last year - when you've got a different sort of pressure on you, pressures to try and stay in the league, pressures to save people's livelihoods.

"It's an honour to be involved in these games at the top end of the table. We don't take it for granted. We know how quickly it can go away.

"We've seen how quickly we dropped a few points in a little run we had there [in November], but also how quickly we can come back with three unbelievably massive wins [against Celtic, Falkirk and Rangers], so we know what's right around the corner.

"But while we're up there and while we're playing in these big games, we need to relish them and make the most of them."

Hearts have won all four meetings with Celtic and Rangers this season, and Findlay says it shows they have the character to deal with heightened expectations.

"We thrive in big games, we've shown that in all the big games so far," he said.

"To beat Celtic home and away, to beat Rangers home and away, it's not easy to do no matter what Celtic and Rangers show up. It's a testament to the boys that we're able to do that and to the manager for getting us up for these sort of games.

"We believe in ourselves, I think that's the big thing. You come into these games with the pure belief you can get the victory and that's what we've been doing.

"I've played at Tynecastle many times over the years. I've seen it good, bad and indifferent. I've been very lucky for 95% of this season, it's been very, very good.

"I was saying that to my wife before the Rangers game, I couldn't wait to come and play in the game. It's the sort of game I came to the club for."

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The bigger the game, the bigger the performance.

Hearts continue to set a scorching pace at the top of the Premiership, with Sunday's deserved victory over Rangers keeping Derek McInnes' men six points clear of Celtic, albeit having played a game more.

Hearts have thrived against the big two this term, winning four out of four. The stats are quite something. It's the first time since 1994-95 that Hearts have beaten both Celtic and Rangers twice in a season.

And you have to go way back to 1959-60 for the last time Hearts won four successive league matches against the Old Firm.

Hearts - seeking to end a 66-year wait for the title - occupy top spot in the Premiership at Christmas for the first time since 1991 and have the most wins, most goals and joint-best defensive record.

Hearts fans are believing this could be their year, and striker Lawrence Shankland told BBC Scotland: "Good, that's what it's all about.

"We're in a good position and and as fans you've got to believe these things."

And Stephen McGowan, football writer with The Herald, says it is "delusional" to suggest that Hearts are not genuine title contenders.

"We've played 18 games, we're one away from the halfway point. Yeah, we're absolutely at that point where Hearts are in the title race," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"I think anybody who says otherwise is delusional. They are six points clear of Celtic. Okay, Celtic have a game in hand. They're 11 points clear of Motherwell, 12 clear of Rangers now. How can anyone say anything other than Hearts are absolutely in the race?

"I remember going and having a cup of tea with Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay in Glasgow quite some time ago. And he said, 'If after 19 games we're top of the league and we're in the frame, then people could talk about as title contenders.'"

Hearts' next challenge will be keeping up their winning momentum as they take on Edinburgh rivals Hibs in the derby at Easter Road.

Shankland added: "Everybody speaks to you and says it's a massive game this week, but it feels like it's been like that for the last 12.

"So that's enjoyable, it's a good pressure to have and the boys are thriving right now. The derby will taking care of itself now, it'll be a tough one at Easter Road but it's another game we've got to try and win."

We asked for your views on Hearts' rousing 2-1 win against Rangers as the Tynecastle side continue to set the title pace.

Here's what some of you said:

Alfo: Can't remember seeing a more one-sided victory for Hearts against Rangers for a long time and in truth we could have won by three or four. Happy to trouser the three points and head to Easter Road, looking for a similar display. Great result from a great team that's full of passion, determination and skill.

Steve: A great three points, dogged performances all round. Looking forward to the derby with quiet confidence. Can't understand why Derek McInnes doesn't sub Lawrence Shankland with around 15 minutes to go when we're under pressure, the team need someone like Elton Kabangu to get up the park and can cause their defenders problems.

William: After an edgy start, we started to take control after about 20 minutes, another fantastic headed goal from a set-piece for Stuart Findlay and a superb strike from Shankland. Once Beni Baningime is ready to play from the start, our midfield will be our engine. Only negative? The way we lost the goal. Next, Easter Road for three points.

James: Cammy Devlin is the mainstay of this Hearts team, he is as good as any midfielder in Scotland this season.

Chris: We were missing three starters in Harry Milne, Craig Halkett and Beni - who in their own right are having their best season in a Hearts jersey, if not their careers, so it was always going to be a tough game. I was shocked to see a Rangers side arrive with five at the back, and it took a while for us to adjust but once we did we could have been three or four up. Their goal was nonsense from our point of view but a small blip in a great result. Enjoy your Christmas Jambos!

Steve: Great atmosphere in the stadium and was nice to get the goals after adjusting to Rangers essentially parking the bus with five at the back. We were missing some big players, and Devlin actually had his quietest game for a while, and was still man of the match. Pay the boy what he's asking and get him signed for life! I wish we could play the Old Firm every week at this rate.

Watch the best of the action from Tynecastle as Premiership leaders Hearts bolster their title credentials with a 2-1 win over Rangers. (Available to UK users only)

Hearts end the day six points clear of reigning champions Celtic but move 12 ahead of Rangers after beating the Ibrox side 2-1 at Ibrox.

Stuart Findlay and Lawrence Shankland had the hosts two ahead by the break before Youssef Chermiti's stoppage-time reply.

Read the full match report.

Give us your thoughts.

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Hearts head coach Derek McInnes thought his side "were good value for the two-goal victory" before Rangers' late consolation as the Edinburgh side consolidated their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

"Obviously you've got to keep doing the right things and we're a little bit annoyed with the goal we lost," he told BBC Scotland.

"But, if you are going to lose a goal with a 2-0 lead, do it with 10 seconds to go. I was gratefully to hear that final whistle go so quickly.

"We got a wee bit of a break with the disallowed goal. But Rangers' line-up surprised us - they have not been 5-3-2, certainly not from the start of games. Mikey Moore playing as a central striker surprised us and we never quite got our distances right.

"But, after we secured that after 15 minutes, I thought we connected the game really well. I thought we carried a threat, we disrupted Rangers' fluency.

"From then on in, we were worthy of the 2-0 lead at half time. Then we just see it out. I thought we defended brilliantly."

McInnes pointed out the disparity in finances between Hearts and the visitors.

"Rangers are a good team, with good players, they spend thousands on wages every week, they spend millions putting a squad together and, if you give any of their good players encouragement, they can hurt you," he said.

"We expected a tough game and we got a tough game, but we also expected to win.

We have turned up for these games. The bigger the game, the bigger the performance and it's been there."

Asked about their title chances, McInnes added: "We are not quite at the halfway stage. Improvements still need to come for us.

"It is important we come out the January window a bit stronger and the players here sense they have to keep working hard and keep looking to improve.

"I certainly hope we can make this a special season. I am always hearing we are only at the top of the league because teams not being as good as they normally are, but our actual points tally is actually around where a team at the top of the table are around that.

"We just want the games to get bigger and bigger and, for Hearts to stay relevant, we just need to keep chalking off wins."

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Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland is comfortable with Hearts being regarded as favourites against Rangers on Sunday. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Home manager Derek McInnes hopes the Hearts crowd will be extra vocal against Rangers at Tynecastle. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

When Hearts went to Ibrox in September, things were a bit different in the Scottish Premiership.

Russell Martin was Rangers manager and Brendan Rodgers was still at Celtic, but one constant is that Hearts were at the top of the tree after they secured their first victory at Ibrox in 18 visits since August 2014.

Lawrence Shankland fired in the opener after being played in on goal by Claudio Braga, with Rangers incensed it wasn't chalked off for an apparent handball in the build-up by the Scotland striker.

Shankland wrapped up the 2-0 win late on, sweeping home the rebound after his original penalty kick was saved by Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland.

A repeat result at Tynecastle on Sunday would take Hearts 12 points ahead of Rangers in the table, having played a game more.

Conversely, Rangers could move within six points of the league leaders with a game in hand if they continue their strong domestic form under new head coach Danny Rohl.