High-flying Hearts are expected to have an easy job in the rescheduled Scottish Cup 4th round match against St Johnstone. Jim Jefferies’s side have been in incredible form lately and they are expected to continue the great run against average SPL side that is St Johnstone.

Closing the gap behind Old Firm rivals

The whole of Scotland has been wondering for quite a while now if a Scottish team will ever be able to break the Old Firm rivals, and judging by Hearts’ performances this season, they could soon get their answer. The arrival of experienced boss Jim Jefferies from Kilmarnock has revived this team and the mere fact Hearts are still pretty much in the title race speaks for itself. The team have won eight out of last nine matches in all competitions and they have got to be considered hot favourites in this clash. Jim Jefferies’ side defeated much stronger sides than St Johnstone at their Tynecastle this season, with the victory over bitter rivals Hibernian serving as a major confidence boost before the remainder of the season.

Stephen Elliot, Gary Glen, Darren Barr and Ian Black are all in contention, but Andy Driver and Suso Santana remain sidelined.

Sailing towards safety

St Johnstone are doing pretty well this season as they are currently ten points clear of the bottom-placed Hamilton, which should guarantee them another season in Scottish top flight. The five-match losing run that started at the end of October threatened to hurt team’s survival bid, but St Johnstone quickly recovered to win three of the next five games and they thus virtually ended their relegation worries. Derek McInnes’ side clearly enter this match as underdogs, but having won two of their last four away games, they certainly have something to hope for.

Jamie Adams could be fit to play after recovering from an ankle injury, while Kevin Moon has resumed training following the lengthy spell on the sidelines, although he still lacks some match fitness.

Verdict

Hearts are doing remarkably well at the moment and they are eager to continue the impressive run of results. Their Tynecastle is slowly becoming a real fortress and it looks highly unlikely that average St Johnstone side will be able to stop Hearts from making it to the next round of the competition.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.57 (4/7)

Bookmaker: 888Sport