Can Hearts get back on track against relentless Rangers?

You can get fireworks when these two collide in Edinburgh

Just when Hearts fans though their team was getting back to a good level, the last two matches have came as a kick in the teeth. The League Cup defeat at Falkirk was a let-down, especially after the team had battled back from 2-0 to take the lead only to lose it again. These things can happen though and most Jambos would have taken a bounce-back win over Motherwell at home as some sort of apology.

A 2-0 defeat with Jambos boss Jim Jefferies later saying that his team needs to be more like Motherwell would have been particularly galling. Perhaps the visit of Rangers is just what Hearts need to kick-start themselves again. That or it could send them further into a negative spiral.

Lets not get carried away though, the SPL, outside of the big two is much of a muchness but Hearts have given indication that they could become the best of the rest. Injuries are always going to be a blight on the Hearts squad, as are suspensions but if they can hold it together, they can still have a strong season.

Jefferies has hinted that there may be some changes to the backline that has seen Hearts lose their last two matches and the Jambos are still denied the services of Andrew Driver, who suffered a slight setback after playing in a bounce match versus St Johnstone.

A trip to Tynecastle is not the game to be tinkering with a team but Rangers will have the opportunity to bring in some fresh faces if required. Nikica Jelavic and Vladimir Weiss sat out Wednesday night’s triumph and will be fit for the Edinburgh game. With the Croatian striker getting amongst the goals and the on-loan winger starting the last 4 SPL games for the champions, there would be no surprise if they came back into the side.

Hearts fans will be hoping that the exertions on a heavy pitch on Wednesday will see the Rangers squad at less than 100% but we don’t see them tailing off just yet. With a break for international duties coming up, Walter Smith should be able to get one more performance out of his team before a natural break occurs.

Even when Hearts aren’t playing too well, the excitement of the crowd at Tynecastle can sometimes lift the team when either of the big two from Glasgow come calling and there have been some brilliant matches between the two sides in recent years. Maybe not games that would have the football purists purring but when it comes to the passion and end to end football that Scotland does so well, these games are right up there with the best of them.

We can only hope that this weekend’s game is as exciting as some of the previous Hearts v Rangers encounters at Tynecastle.

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