Partick Thistle v Hearts: Match preview and probable line-ups

Hearts travel to Maryhill tomorrow hoping to build on impressive results against Aberdeen and Hamilton Academical, while Partick will be looking to bounce back from their midweek Betfred Cup exit at the hands of Rangers.
Don Cowie of Hearts and Partick's Sean Welsh battle for possession at Tynecastle last year. Picture: John DevlinDon Cowie of Hearts and Partick's Sean Welsh battle for possession at Tynecastle last year. Picture: John Devlin
Don Cowie of Hearts and Partick's Sean Welsh battle for possession at Tynecastle last year. Picture: John Devlin

The appointment of Craig Levein as Ian Cathro’s successor in the dugout has seen a more resilient, and improved, Hearts side in recent weeks.

Aberdeen had Joe Lewis to thank as the ‘keeper’s heroics prevented Hearts from taking all three points from the match with Derek McInnes’s side and while they rode their luck at times against Hamilton, the teams ended a three-game run without a victory and will fancy making it two wins out of two against a Jags side currently sitting joint bottom and without a league win to their name.

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The match at the Energy Check Stadium will kick off at the later time of 4pm, as a result of the Rangers v Celtic match earlier in the day.

Craig Levein has a near-full squad to choose from, with Arnaud Djoum the only absentee with a knee injury. The Cameroonian midfielder is likely to be out for around five weeks, but Connor Randall should be fine to play despite suffering from a tight hamstring.

Partick, however, are without long-term injured trio Callum Booth, Mustapha Dumbuya and Callum Booth while striker Conor Sammon is ineligible to play against his parent club. Midfielder Chris Erskine is suspended while goalkeeper Tomas Cerny is hoping to recover from a stomach strain in time to face Hearts. Striker Miles Storey returns to the squad after being cup-tied for the midweek cup match.

Last five meetings: Hearts 2-2 Partick Thistle; Partick Thistle 2-0 Hearts; Hearts 1-1 Partick Thistle; Partick Thistle 1-2 Hearts; Hearts 1-0 Partick Thistle

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Probable Partick team (3-5-2): Cerny; Keown, Devine, Turnbull; McGinn, Bannigan, Edwards, Barton, Elliott; Spittal, Storey. Subs from: Scully, Nitriansky, Nisbet, Osman, McCarthy, Lawless, Doolan, Sneddon.

Probable Hearts team: (3-4-1-2): McLaughlin; Souttar, Berra, Hughes; M Smith, Callachan, Cowie, Smith-Brown; Walker; Goncalves, Lafferty. Subs from: Hamilton, Nowak, Grzelak, Brandon, Buaben, Martin, Milinkovic, Stockton, Moore, Currie.

Referee: Don Robertson

Kick-off: 4pm

Odds: Partick 12/5 Draw 23/10 Hearts 23/20 (Odds from Bet365, correct at the time of writing)