Hearts v Queen of the South: team news, starting XI, odds, how to watch live

Hearts return to action on Saturday after Tuesday’s Scottish Cup exit to Highland League Brora Rangers.

Despite a 16-point lead at the top of the Championship, all is not well at Tynecastle following midweek’s result which has prompted plenty of supporter disgruntlement heading into the weekend's game.

Team news: Peter Haring, who started at centre-back at Brora, returns from his league suspension having missed the win over Ayr United and draw with Arbroath. Robbie Neilson will still be without Michael Smith and Craig Gordon, who miss out due to international duty. Stephen Kingsley and Steven Naismith could return as will Andy Halliday who was suspended for the midweek debacle.

Starting XI: Stewart; White, Halkett, Berra, Kingsley; Irving, Halliday, McEneff, Naismith; Gnanduillet, Boyce.

What the manager said: "We need to win on Saturday and win the league. We will remind them about this [Brora defeat] regularly to make sure standards are better and this does not happen again."

Match details: Saturday, March 27. Kick-off 3pm, Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh.

How to watch: 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: While the previous fixture at Tynecastle saw Hearts run out 6-1 winners, the teams drew in Dumfries at Palmerston Park last month. After falling behind through an Ayo Obileye penalty just before half-time, a point was rescued when Liam Boyce won and converted a penalty.

Key stat: It has been 58 years since Hearts lost to Queen of the South in a competitive fixture. More than 10,000 saw the Doonhamers win at Tynecastle Park in October 1963, David Thomson scored the only goal of the game past Jim Cruickshank. Since then there have been 22 meetings in competitive matches.

Referee: Gavin Duncan – The official was in charge of Hearts’ extra-time defeat to Alloa Athletic in the Betfred Cup earlier this season. He drew the ire of Robbie Neilson for his award of a penalty to the Wasps which Alan Trouten converted to win the tie.

Match odds: Hearts 3/10 Draw 17/4 Queen of the South 17/2 (odds via McBookie)

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