Hearts have enjoyed the upperhand over Aberdeen in recent meetings but Dons manager Derek McInnes is confident his side can compound a miserable week for the Jambos by beating them at Pittodrie this afternoon.
Robbie Neilson’s Jambos have won their last three matches against the Dons, including a 1-0 victory in the Scottish Cup last January and a 2-1 success in April that all but ended Aberdeen’s hopes of preventing Celtic from winning the Premiership title.
However, it has been a tough start to the season for the Tynecastle men.
Having been knocked out of the Europa League by Maltese minnows Birkirkara, they were beaten 2-1 by Celtic on the opening day of the Premiership season last weekend before being dumped out of the Betfred Cup by St Johnstone midweek.
But McInnes remains wary of the side that finished third in the top flight last term.
He said: “They’ve added a lot of experience in the last year. They’ve signed five internationals: Juwon Oshaniwa, Perry Kitchen, Don Cowie, Conor Sammon and Tony Watt – they’re ready-made players and players with a good level of experience.
“There’s been some good performances from us in the Europa League, so, hopefully, we can be good enough to win the game this weekend but we know we will have to play well.”
Jayden Stockley could miss the match because of a hamstring complaint but Ash Taylor is likely to return after missing the 2-1 win at Ayr through illness. Peter Pawlett also returns from suspension.