Hearts vs Livingston
4 December 1945hrs
Football – Scotland – Premiership
Pick Both teams to score
Bookmaker Betvictor
Odds: 37/40 odds taken 2000 GMT, Tuesday 4 December)
Hearts look likely to remain under the charge of caretaker manager Austin MacPhee for the visit of Livingston. The home team are only off the bottom of the table by virtue of a better goal difference and need all three points from this match.
Scottish Premiership Betting at Betvictor
Hearts vs Livingston Live Stats & Betting Odds
Hearts Preview – Will Hearts recover from two heavy away defeats and pick up just their third win of the league campaign?
It’s now over a month since Hearts sacked Craig Levein as head coach and they have yet to hire a permanent replacement. Austin MacPhee was given the role on an interim basis but results and performances have – in the main – remained very poor. Hearts come into Wednesday’s game on the back of two very heavy away defeats against Kilmarnock (3-0) and Rangers (5-0). Those losses leave them level on points with St Johnstone and St Mirren at the bottom of the table. It’s simply not good enough for one of the most expensively assembled squads in this league. There is talk that former Barsnley manager Daniel Stendel has bene offered the job and the sooner an appointment is made the better it will be for all at Tynecastle.
MacPhee could well be taking charge of his final game as caretaker boss. He’ll be hoping that playing at home sparks an improvement in both performance and result. Because if Hearts lose tomorrow there is a chance they go into the weekend games rock bottom.
Livingston Preview – Can Livi end a run of seven games without a win and go six points clear of bottom spot?
When beating Celtic 2-0 at home back in October Livingston were nicely placed in the top half. It was their best performance and win of the season and confidence was very high. Fast forward a couple of months and Livi have not won a match since then. Saturday’s goalless draw at home to Hamilton was their seventh game without a win, picking up just three points in that time. Gary Holt’s men have also failed to score in four of those matches and he knows they have to get back to winning ways soon. Although his team are seventh at the moment they are just three points clear of bottom spot. If they can manage to get a win here it gives them much needed breathing space.
Although Livi have not been prolific scorers they have found the net in all bar one of their away games. In fact, only Celtic and Rangers have scored more goals on their travels than Livingston. That will give them confidence as they make the short journey to Edinburgh tomorrow night.
Key-Facts – Hearts vs Livingston
- Since winning 5-2 against St Mirren in their last home game Hearts have conceded eight in two away defeats against Kilmarnock and Hearts
- Livingston have not won a game since their excellent 2-0 win at home to Celtic in October and will be wanting to put further distance between themselves and bottom spot
- It was a goalless draw when these sides last faced each other back at the end of October
Hearts vs Livingston Betting Advice
It’s not dramatic to suggest that this is a must win game for Hearts who have been dire for the majority of the season. Livingston will be only too happy to heap further misery on their opponents and have shown that they are dangerous, especially in the role of underdogs. Change might be coming for the hosts in the shape of a new manager but this current staff and players simply have to get a result.
The most surprising thing about Hearts this season is how poor they have been defensively. They are conceding just under two goals a game and have not kept a clean sheet since the last time they faced Livingston. The issue for Hearts is that their opponents are more threatening on their travels and play well on the counter. As the hosts need to play on the front foot they may well be leave themselves open.
Four of their last five home games have seen both teams scoring and seven of Livi’s eight away games have went the same way.
