St Mirren v Hearts team news and probable line-ups: Pivotal relegation clash | Key men to miss out? Sold out away end

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

Hearts travel to Paisley on Friday night (ko 7.45pm) for another pivotal clash in their battle to avoid relegation from the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Tenth-place St Mirren are three points above the bottom of the table Jam Tarts, albeit with a game in hand.

Following the 2-1 win over Rangers at a raucous Tynecastle last month, Daniel Stendel’s men had an appealing run of games on the horizon, with matches against bottom six rivals St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Hamilton and St Mirren.

St Mirren are just one of three teams to have been defeated by Hearts in the league this season. Picture: SNS

Yet, heading into Friday night’s fixture, Hearts have picked up just two points to add to the three gained over the Ibrox side.

The most recent was a disappointing 2-2 draw with Hamilton. The Accies had taken a two-goal lead before going down to ten men with Hearts struggling to a draw.

This week there have been reports of dressing room unrest, something which the players and management shot down, while Stendel has called on his players to give more for the fans, reminding them the time for excuses is now over.

St Mirren present tough opposition. Of their last 13 fixtures only Celtic, Rangers and Livingston have defeated them. On Tuesday they came through extra time and penalties to beat Motherwell in a Scottish Cup replay having taken a 4-1 lead in the first half.

St Mirren team news: Jim Goodwin has no fresh injury worries. Ryan Flynn, Stephen McGinn, Kyle Magennis (all knee) and Gary MacKenzie (hamstring) are out.

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

Hearts team news: There is a doubt over key striker Liam Boyce who has been ill. Daniel Stendel spoke of the player not being 100 percent recently. Toby Sibbick is expected to miss out (illness), while Marcel Langer is suspended. Peter Haring remains out.

Probable Hearts XI: Zlamal; Smith, Halkett, Souttar, Hickey; Clare, Bozanic, Irving, Walker; Naismith, Washington.

Key clash: Craig Halkett and John Souttar struggled to deal with the imposing Hamilton duo David Moyo and Marios Ogkmpoe on Saturday. They will come up against another powerful striker in Jonathan Obika. With two goals during the week the Englishman reached ten for the season. But more than that he is a focal point for the Buddies. He can back in and act as a link or he can stretch games with his pace in behind.

Last meeting: Interim boss Austin MacPhee was in charge as he led the team to a 5-2 win at Tynecastle in a topsy turvy encounter with defending leaving a lot to be desired. Scoring went back and forth in the first half with Hearts taking a 3-2 half-time lead thanks to an Oliver Bozanic header. Jamie Walker and Jake Mulraney added goals after the interval to secure what has turned out to be a mammoth three points.

Match details: Friday, 21 October. The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley. Kick-off 7.45pm. Tickets are sold out for the away end.

Referee: Alan Muir (38 yellows and three red cards in 12 Scottish Premiership appearances) – This will be the official’s fifth Hearts match of the season. He sent off Jake Mulraney late in a defeat to Motherwell as well as Sean Clare in the draw with Aberdeen.

Match odds: St Mirren 2/1 Draw 11/5 Hearts 7/5