Hearts v Aberdeen: Team news, starting XI, how to watch live, match odds

Hearts return to cinch Premiership action on Sunday when they welcome Aberdeen to Tynecastle Park for the first meeting between these sides in more than 600 days.

Hearts face Aberdeen at Tynecastle Park for the first time since 2019 this weekend. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Plenty, of course, has happened and changed in that period and both sides come into the fixture having been knocked out the Premier Sports Cup but both sit with a 100 per cent record in the league after two games.

Robbie Neilson’s men will be looking to bounce back from a poor showing in the 3-2 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead in the cup, while Aberdeen followed up their exit at the hands of Raith Rovers by in the Conference League play-off round.

The game takes on extra significance with Tynecastle Park opened to its capacity. Hearts have sold 12,500 season tickets, while the Dons will be back by more than 1,300 of their own supporters in what it set to be a pulsating encounter and a fantastic atmosphere.

Team news: Josh Ginnelly was only fit enough to come on as a half-time substitute against Celtic, while Andy Halliday picked up a knock on his Achilles. Both are expected to be fit to face Aberdeen. Robbie Neilson will make a decision on Gary Mackay-Steven, who took a knock in training, and Armand Gnanduillet, who missed the Celtic game due to family matters.

Possible starting XI: Gordon; Souttar, Halkett, Kingsley; Smith, Haring, Baningime, Cochrane; Ginnelly, Boyce, Mackay-Steven.

What Robbie Neilson had to say: “It’s a big game for us. You think Hibs, Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen are the games you look for, especially the home games. Hopefully we’ll have a full house. It will be brilliant just getting the fans back in and the atmosphere. If we want to be where we want to be, we need to beat Celtic like we did at home, beat Aberdeen at home, plus Rangers and Hibs. The objective for us is top six and trying to get into Europe. Hearts should be consistently in there. It’s easier said than done. You have to prove it.”

Match details: Sunday, August 22. Kick-off 3pm, Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh.

How to watch: The game has been moved from the Saturday 3pm slot to Sunday due to Aberdeen’s involvement in Europe. It is not being broadcast live with Sky Sports showing Hibs’ trip to Dundee. However, supporters without a ticket for the match will be able to watch via HeartsTV with the club providing a PPV option.

Last meeting: You have to go back to the end of December 2019 for the last fixture these teams played. it came at Tynecastle and finished 1-1. Hearts, then under the management of Daniel Stendel, took the lead through Ryotaro Meshino but a Niall McGinn free-kick gave Derek McInnes’ side a share of the spoils. Sean Clare had been sent off for denying a clear and obvious goal scoring opportunity with the Dons netting from that set piece.

Key stat: In the last 11 meetings between the sides, there has been no win for the away side.

Referee: Bobby Madden – The whistler returns to Tynecastle Park after officiating the team’s 2-1 defeat of Aberdeen.

Match odds: Hearts 23/20 Draw 23/10 Aberdeen 12/5 (via McBookie)

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital sports subscription.