Can Hearts arrest alarming away form in seismic derby?
[BBC] Hearts showed the grit and character that has been integral to their Scottish Premiership title charge in their comeback win against Motherwell last time out. The 3-1 victory extended their unbeaten home run in the league this season, but the stakes will rise on Sunday when they travel to face Edinburgh rivals Hibernian in a mouth-watering post-split derby. Derek McInnes' men can expect an intense and hostile afternoon, but can they arrest their alarming away form to make another statement in their push for a historic top-flight title?
A 2-2 draw at the bottom side Livingston at the start of April means Hearts have picked up just one point from their past four league matches on the road, with three straight defeats at Kilmarnock, Rangers and St Mirren coming prior. Throw in December's derby loss at Easter Road, and Hearts have suffered defeat in four of their past seven away games and have failed to win five of them. In fact, after starting the season with four straight victories on the road, they have won just four of the following 12.
The league leaders' league form on the road is the division's third best, four points worse off than Rangers and three behind Celtic. Three of Hearts' five post-split fixtures take place away from Tynecastle, with trips to Motherwell and Celtic following Sunday's short trip to Leith. There are also home encounters to come against Rangers and Falkirk, which will give McInnes' side the opportunity to stretch their stellar home form.
However, failure to end a four-game winless away run could prove to be the difference. Sunday would be a good time to arrest that.