Preview: ICT -v- Hearts

Inverness Caledonian Thistle
-v- Hearts

Heart of Midlothian, the perennial third force in Scottish football, visit Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Saturday for a fixture that is always entertaining, always competitive and always attractive. Hearts are an enigma of grand proportions. Their off-field activities are as closely scrutinised as their on-field performances, their relationship with the authorities and the media is complicated and yet they perform week in, week out. Whatever the situation, they have fantastically loyal fans who will visit the Highlands in numbers.

Hearts come into this game on a fine run of form, having won five games on the bounce out of their last six, but they are weaker away from home. They are in scoring mood, having put five past St. Mirren on their last outing and they will see a great opportunity to add to their eleven SPL wins against Inverness. The loss of Jonnson to Wolves and doubts over who will stay/won’t stay in January seems not to have affected them in the slightest, and Paulo Sergio must be delighted at their resilience. Having watched Inverness at Dunfermline on Wednesday night, he expects a hard fought game: “It wasn’t a beautiful game, but it was a typical cup tie with two sides fighting to get through. Inverness will be motivated by the win, and it will be a hard game for us” Expect something close to the strongest eleven from Hearts, as they have no new injuries to cope with.

The same cannot be said of Inverness. So hard fought was Wednesday night’s cup win that Terry butcher has another three additions to the physiotherapy appointments calendar. Andrew Shinnie, a candidate for Inverness’s most potent attacker, awaits a scan on a potential fracture to his metatarsal and could be out for up to six weeks. Roman Golobart, likewise a candidate for best defender of late is struggling after being carried off at Dunfermline following a hefty challenge and is also awaiting results of a scan. Lee Cox is being treated for a calf strain and is also a major doubt. The injury jinx has stalked Inverness all year, but there are replacements ready to fill the breach. Butcher says “We have had two strong and solid performances against Paulo Sergio’s men this season and we want to make this a really special week with three wins in eight days. However, our success at Dunfermline came with a heavy cost as Andrew Shinnie, Lee Cox and centre half Roman Golobart are having treatment and are a doubt for this weekend” Josh Meekings may come into contention, and there may be a first home start for new signing Steve Williams. McKay, Tade and Hayes will form the attacking threat.

This game could be a cracker, as both sides are committed to attacking football and neither side possesses too many that lack a competitive edge (welcome back Ian Black!) A scoring draw is my prediction, adding to a sequence of 1-1’s between the sides.

Preview by: Davie Balfour