Hibs v Aberdeen - predicted starting XI for Easter Road side as David Gray's men seek vital Pittodrie victory

Even when it looks simple, the machinations and calculations behind the scenes can be akin to 3-D chess. Played outdoors in the teeth of a hurricane.

Should the Hibs starting XI lining up at Pittodrie tomorrow look familiar, then, don’t imagine that David Gray has been tempted to simply press the ‘same again’ button and hope for a repeat of last weekend’s score line in the home win over Kilmarnock. Because Aberdeen away, for all the troubles besetting the Dons these days, is a very different test.

Gray faces a number of tricky choices, starting with central defence. Grant Hanley was outstanding at the weekend, looking anything but a rusty old-timer who hadn’t played a single minute of competitive football - for club or country - in over two months; he was positively springing around the pitch.

But Rocky Bushiri, whose return from World Cup duty was delayed by the entire Democratic Republic of Congo squad being taken to Kinshasa to play their part in a national holiday, the only way to mark the nation formerly known as Zaire returning to the finals for the first time since 1974, is back and raring to pick up where he left off before the international break. Does he replace the Scotland centre-half? Or does Gray pair them together, something he’s done in the past, in a reshaped back three?

The midfield wasn’t utterly amazing last weekend, despite the final score. But it has looked like one of the most settled areas of the team, with Josh Mulligan’s continued recovery from injury leaving Gray short on alternatives, although Kai Andrews has impressed in bursts.

Up top, well, Owen Elding is a guaranteed starter when fit. With Martin Boyle and Ante Suto probably vying for a place alongside the 20-year-old, who has three goals to his name since arriving in January.

With three points needed to at least maintain the pressure on Motherwell - facing Hearts at Tynecastle - in the race for European football, here’s how we think Hibs will line up tomorrow afternoon: