St Mirren v Hearts team news and possible line-ups: TV coverage, key trio fitness update, Attacking line-up?

A look ahead to the pivotal relegation battle between Hearts and St Mirren

Hearts make the trip along the M8 to Paisley to face St Mirren on Wednesday night (7.45pm ko) in what is likely to be a pivotal encounter in their quest to achieve Ladbrokes Premiership survival.

There are just three points between the Jam Tarts, who sit bottom of the table, and Buddies in 11th, following the weekend’s action.

Hearts followed up derby success with a draw at home to Motherwell, while St Mirren were thumped 5-0 by Celtic at Parkhead.

Steven Naismith has hit four goals against St Mirren for Hearts. Picture: SNS

This fixture is the rescheduled game from last month when the sides were due to meet in front of the BT Sport cameras only for the weather to intervene and force a postponement.

Looking back, it was a break which has done Hearts the world of good with Daniel Stendel able to work more with his players, including with rope and goggles as they aimed to give the team a better balance between defence and attack. A cheap goal was given up in the draw with Motherwell but the side look more solid.

St Mirren had lost just once in six games going into the clash with Celtic, including a 2-1 win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

It is set to be an intriguing encounter with the eyes of Scottish football on it to see if Hearts can pull themselves off the bottom of the table or if they are staring relegation in the face.

St Mirren team news: Jim Goodwin has no fresh injury concerns. Ryan Flynn and Kyle Magennis are out with long-term knee injuries.

Possible St Mirren XI: Hladky; Hodson, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters; Durmus, Foley, MacPherson, McGrath; Jakubiak, Obika.

Hearts team news: Toby Sibbick has returned to training but the game may come too soon for him to start. Daniel Stendel is confident Sean Clare and Jamie Walker will both be fit after picking up knocks in the draw with Motherwell.

Possible Hearts X (4-1-4-1): Zlamal; Smith, Halkett, Dikamona, Hickey; Damour; Clare, Boyce, Naismith, Moore; Boyce; Washington.

Key clash: Daniel Stendel made a brave change at half-time of the weekend’s clash with Motherwell, bringing Liam Boyce on for Oliver Bozanic. It saw Boyce play deeper alongside Steven Naismith behind Conor Washington but in front of Loic Damour. It is something that Stendel has admitted he may do again. If he does so against St Mirren they will come up against a tenacious duo in Cameron MacPherson and Sam Foley. It will be a battle of strength and wits.

Last meeting: The only time Hearts have beaten a team in the bottom six was the last time these sides met. Under the control of interim boss Austin MacPhee, the Jambos ran out 5-2 winners at Tynecastle with Steven Naismith, Oliver Bozanic, Jamie Walker and Jake Mulraney amongst the goal.

Match details: Wednesday, 11 March. St Mirren Park, Paisley. Kick-off 7.45pm.

TV coverage: The original fixture was due to be shown on BT Sport. This fixture is not live, but delayed coverage will be shown on BBC Alba at 10pm.

Referee: Alan Muir (13 Premiership fixtures – 42 yellow cards, three reds) – This will be the official’s fourth game in charge of Hearts this campaign. The team haven’t won with Muir in charge. He showed Jake Mulraney and Sean Clare red cards against Motherwell and Aberdeen respectively.

Odds: St Mirren 2/1 Draw 21/10 Hearts 29/20