D-day For Livi In Kilmarnock; Mcinnes & Stewart In Focus

Having suffered a 3rd consecutive distant conclusion and pinch Celtic and Rangers having narrowed nan spread astatine nan top, Derek McInnes will beryllium gladsome of immoderate location comforts arsenic he looks to allay nan communicative that his long-time leaders are cracking nether nan title pressure.

The coming weeks will surely beryllium a trial of his managerial expertise, starting pinch nan sojourn of a broadside led by erstwhile Hearts caretaker and skipper Steven Pressley.

Pressley knows each astir really nan Tynecastle crowd tin beryllium 12th man successful nan bully times but tin quickly move febrile successful frustration.

Hearts stay unbeaten astatine location successful nan Premiership this season, but since losing connected penalties to Falkirk successful nan Scottish Cup successful January, they person drawn pinch Celtic and scraped 3 successive 1-0 wins.

The nervousness and hostility could astatine times beryllium trim pinch a weapon and Dundee get buoyed by their two-goal, stoppage-time fightback to tie Sunday's metropolis derby.

Eight points clear of St Mirren and Kilmarnock, Pressley's broadside are not yet clear of relegation problem but are edging location aft 5 unbeaten games.

McInnes has besides been present before, starring Aberdeen to 4 consecutive second-place finishes arsenic they became Celtic's main challengers during Rangers' financial problems from 2014-18.

He will beryllium forgiven if he is haunted by nan representation of nan 2015-16 season, erstwhile his Dons were only 3 points down Celtic pinch 14 matches to play earlier faltering successful nan last stages to decorativeness 15 points behind.

The expanding nervousness could explicate why, since nan commencement of February, Hearts person scored conscionable 5 goals from 77 shots successful nan Premiership, a conversion complaint of 6.5% - nan lowest of immoderate broadside successful nan title successful this time.

Their xG/shot of 0.076 is besides nan lowest of immoderate broadside successful nan top-flight successful this period. Dundee, meanwhile, apical some of these metrics since 1 February (15.2% conversion, 0.129 xG/shot).

The return from wounded of Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland, on pinch cardinal midfielder Cammy Devlin, should thief amended those stats for Hearts.

They thumped Dundee 4-0 connected their past sojourn successful November, but McInnes would nary uncertainty settee for a repetition of nan 1-0 triumph astatine Dens Park successful January and a sixth triumph complete nan Dark Blues connected their latest 7 trips to Tynecastle.