Hearts v Greenock Morton: Team news, starting XI, odds, how to watch live

Hearts defeated Greenock Morton 2-0 last time out. Picture: SNS

Robbie Neilson’s men will be looking to bounce back with a win after last Friday’s draw with Queen of the South.

Any time this season the club have had what fans would deem a disappointing draw they have always bounced back with three points.

The loss to Dunfermline in November was followed by a 3-0 win over Alloa Athletic. When the Wasps beat Hearts in the Betfred Cup, the team responded by sweeping aside Morton 2-0.

January’s loss to Dundee was prior to a win over Alloa and then Raith Rovers were thumped 4-0 in an excellent performance by the Tynecastle side having won in Gorgie in a few days’ previous.

Team news: Armand Gnanduillet will likely return after missing the Queen of the South draw with a tight hamstring. Aidy White also missed the fixture at Palmerston Park and Saturday will probably come too soon for him. There was good news this week with centre-back John Souttar returning to first-team training, taking part in ball exercises with team-mates having not played in nearly a year.

Possible XI: Gordon; Smith, Popescu, Halkett, Kingsley; Kastaneer, McEneff, Irving, Mackay-Steven; Gnanduillet, Boyce.

Match details: Saturday, February 18. 3pm kick-off, Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh.

How to watch: The game, unlike the previous two fixtures, is not live on BBC Scotland. Season ticket holders who have not opted out of games can watch the match via HeartsFCpass.com. A Pay Per View option is available for both sets of fans from here. The game is also available for Hearts TV’s international subscribers.

Last meeting: The 2-0 win at Morton back in December was the first meeting between the sides in 33 years. Jamie Walker was the star of the show for Hearts, netting either side of half time.

Key stat: Hearts have scored in every single league game this season. Morton have drawn blanks on seven occasions.

Referee: David Dickinson – The 41-year-old will take charge of his first ever competitive fixture involving Hearts and it will be just his second Championship game this season.

Match odds: Hearts 2/9 Draw 11/2 Greenock Morton 10/1