In-form Hearts welcome Aberdeen to Tynecastle on Saturday as they look to keep up the momentum that has lifted them into third.
Steven Naismith's side are a long way clear of the sides below them, with a place in the Championship Group, and subsequent European qualification, looking likely.
Match preview
© Reuters
Hearts have been the masters of the late show in their recent outings, and they continued that with a dramatic 3-2 win over Dundee in midweek.
After being 2-0 down at half time, Hearts recovered and turned the game on its head, sealing victory with a 86th-minute strike from substitute Yutaro Oda.
That extended their unbeaten run to seven games, where they have won six, and it was also the fourth time in five matches where Hearts have clinched a result in the final 10 minutes.
After Lawrence Shankland's 93rd-minute winner in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian, Hearts have also stolen a point from Ross County after being 2-0 down with 20 minutes to play and beat League Two Spartans 2-1 in the Scottish Cup with another injury-time winner from Frankie Kent.
The 16 points Hearts have taken from their last six games is more than both Rangers (15) and Celtic (12) over the same period, moving them eight points ahead of Kilmarnock in fourth.
Third place in Scotland brings with it a place in the Europa League playoffs, and that is looking like Hearts' to lose from this stage.
Aberdeen were the side who finished third last season and benefitted from guaranteed European group stage football, even if they did drop into the Europa Conference League.
© Reuters
Their escapades around Europe may have had an unintentional knock-on effect to their form in the league, though, as they are now battling hard for a spot in the top six.
Barry Robson's side have risen to seventh after marked improvement recently, but they may have been slightly disappointed at dropping two points at St Johnstone in midweek.
On their return to league action, the Dons went into the game on the back of five wins from seven, and even though they were fortunate that a St Johnstone opener was ruled out, Bojan Miovski's goal looked like it would be pivotal, until debutant David Keltjens levelled proceedings.
The draw did move them above Dundee into seventh though, and they are now just two points off the top six with two games in hand.
While that provides an opportunity for more points, it does mean their schedule will be extremely busy over the next month.
Over a three-and-a-half week period including Wednesday's draw at St Johnstone, Aberdeen will play eight matches, as they are also still in the Scottish Cup, where they will face giant-killers Bonnyrigg Rose.
Team News
© Reuters
Hearts remain without two important defensive options with Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles still away on international duty with Australia at the Asian Cup.
Liam Boyce is not set to return from injury until next month, while Cammy Devlin is also sidelined after picking up a problem back in early December.
Aberdeen have just James McGarry out injured, as his hamstring issue is set to keep him out for another month.
A change in shape from Robson has seen Duk struggle to get back into the starting XI, despite being snubbed by Cape Verde, as his late sub appearance against Clyde remain his only minutes in 2024.
Switching from a 3-5-2 to a 4-5-1 has seen Duk play second fiddle to Miovski up front, while Richard Jensen has also lost his place in defence.
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Clark; Kent, Halkett, Kingsley; Lembikisa, Nieuwenhof, Baningime, Forrest, Cochrane; Shankland, Vargas
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; Devlin, Rubezic, Gartenmann, Mackenzie; Barron, Shinnie; Polvara, Clarkson, McGrath; Miovski
We say: Hearts 2-1 Aberdeen
Naismith will see the upcoming games as a perfect opportunity to extend their gap over fourth even further, with no meetings against the Old Firm for another month.
Aberdeen have shown promising signs themselves of late, but they may find it difficult against the most in-form team in the Scottish Premiership here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
