Kilmarnock

Bruce Anderson takes his place in the XI up front. Joe Wright meanwhile drops to the bench because Stuart Findlay is back fit to to take his place in the backline.

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes, 53, has admirers with the Rangers hierarchy amid the Ibrox club's recent struggles. (Football Insider), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

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• Dundee have won just one of their last 18 Scottish Premiership games against Kilmarnock (D11 L6) and are winless in 11 (D7 L4) since a 1-0 triumph in May 2017 under Neil McCann, with Marcus Haber netting the winner that day.

• Kilmarnock are unbeaten in 11 Scottish Premiership away games against Dundee, although eight of those have been drawn (W3).

• Kilmarnock could win successive away matches over the Dee in the top-flight for the first time since December 2003 under Jim Jefferies.

• Dundee have lost their last three home games in the Scottish Premiership, while they have lost seven times at Dens Park so far in 2024, last losing more times at home in the top-flight in a calendar year in 2018 (12).

• Kilmarnock have won three of their last eight Scottish Premiership games played on a Sunday (D1 L4), as many victories as across their previous 18 games on that specific day (D3 L12).

• Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes has never lost to Dundee as a manager in Scotland's top-flight, winning 14 and drawing eight of 22 previous such clashes.

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Trevor Carson and Scott Fraser are trying to get back fit for Dundee while Joe Shaughnessy is working his way back from a long-term knee injury.

Kilmarnock midfielder Liam Donnelly is available after suspension, but Stuart Findlay (groin), Liam Polworth (calf) and long-term absentee Kyle Magennis (hamstring) are set to remain out.

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has urged his side to "carry a bit more bullishness" in Sunday's game against Dundee.

The Ayrshire club, after a difficult start, have now picked up three wins in their last four games - most recently coming from behind to defeat Hearts 2-1.

This weekend's match marks their third consecutive away trip.

"Three away games in a week is not ideal," McInnes told Kilmarnock TV.

"The fixtures are a bit kinder to us as we go along through the season in terms of home games and the ratio.

"But nonetheless we'll go up there and try and have a wrestle with Dundee and try and be good enough to win the game. We've had a lot of tight, exciting matches with Dundee.

"We want to try and go on another winning run but to do that we'll have to do a lot of things really well. The players will take confidence from Wednesday night.

"Our second-half performance on Wednesday was good enough to get the win but we need to try and learn to try and play for closer to 90 minutes because on another day we might not get the chance to recover from going 1-0 down.

"It's important that we carry a wee bit more bullishness and certainty from the start of the game."

Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes is the bookmakers' favourite to become Rangers manager should Philippe Clement lose his job, with former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and Malmo's Henrik Rydstrom next in the betting. (The Scotsman), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Matty Kennedy provides a brilliant finish to bring Hearts level in their 2-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle.

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We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's 2-1 comeback win against Hearts at Tynecastle.

Here's what some of you said:

Gregor: Killie started poorly and were lucky to be heading into half-time level before a shocking throw-in decision gave Hearts the chance to go 1-0 up. Came out well in the second half and Kyle Vassell fought well for everything to give us what we needed to get the two goals. The last 10 minutes were nervy but in the end Hearts never really threatened.

Anna: A vastly improved performance all round and for once no red cards. Okay, so Hearts scored on half-time but the way the boys responded in the second half was brilliant, two goals in five minutes and they could have had more. This makes up for the Ross County defeat. The league table makes for good reading, the win lifted us up four places to sixth.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Kyle Vassell admitted the pressure of not scoring in the league had been "mounting" on him until he scored the winner against Hearts on Wednesday night.

The Kilmarnock captain's only previous goal this season came against Tromso on 8 August in Conference League qualifying before he ended an 11-game barren run at Tyncastle.

"I'm delighted to get off the mark," Vassell said. "It’s been mounting on me as I've not been good enough in front of goal.

"It was a great win for the boys. We dug in during the second half and really got after them and it paid off for us."

Derek McInnes' side were trailing 1-0 at the break but managed to turn the scoreline on its head with goals from Vassell and Matty Kennedy.

"We were winning the ball higher up the pitch in the second half," striker Vassell added. "Even 1-0 down at half-time we knew this was still ours. We back ourselves everywhere we go.

"They're a great team but when we got after them we knew we could make it a bit ugly for them and we got the result."

The result moved Kilmarnock up to sixth in the Premiership table, having won three of the last four. However, the victory at the start of that run - against Dundee on 5 October - was their first of the season.

"It’s been stop-start, it's been frustrating," Vassell said of the season so far. "We've played well in every single game but maybe once or twice we've put a 90-minute performance together.

"That's what we need to do more of. We know that and when we do that we can truly be a test for anyone in this league, especially at home."

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• Kilmarnock have won nine points from losing positions in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.

• Hearts attempted 18 shots in this match, higher than their season average of 12.6 in the Premiership.

• Kyle Vassell scored his first goal of the Premiership season, netting for the first time since 11 May 2024 against St Mirren.

• Hearts have conceded three goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half this season, only St Johnstone (four) have conceded more in the Premiership.

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Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes told BBC Scotland: "The opening part of the game, we were a bit too passive. I want us to be more us, and we wasted the first 25 minutes. We were guilty of giving away too many set plays.

"Hearts scored when we were having our best period and I thought we'd sorted ourselves out. We had two or three good opportunities first half, so we had to do it the hard way.

"There were a few words at half-time, a reminder of what we need to be. It was a very good second half. As much as Hearts were better first half, we were better second.

"It's a good time to get Hearts, with the physical exertions. They've got a top squad here but there's no doubt about it - third game in six or seven days has an impact and we mentioned that.

"We showed what we were all about second half. I felt there was a goal in us and if we got one, the game is there to be won. We got the points backed that we shipped away on Saturday."

Kilmarnock came from behind at Tynecastle to earn a Scottish Premiership win and hand new head coach Neil Critchley his first defeat as Hearts head coach.

The hosts dominated the ball and looked well worth their lead when Alan Forrest struck near the end of the first-half.

But in a five minute spell, Kilmarnock made the most of poor Hearts' defending to hit twice - first through Matty Kennedy and then through Kyle Vassell.

What did you make of that, Kilmarnock fans? Was that a deserved victory? What went right at Tynecastle?

Let us know your thoughts here.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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When Kilmarnock can keep their discipline, they're a very difficult team to beat.

To say they had two chances and scored them both would be untrue, though. They threatened at time in the first half, and often absorbed Hearts' pressure while remaining unscathed.

They managed the game better than their hosts, rode the wave of momentum they enjoyed briefly in the second half, and left with all three points - and also, notably, no red cards.

It's amazing what you can do with 11 men on the pitch.

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Kyle Vassell. The Killie striker has come in for some criticism as he endured a barren spell, but he set one up and scored another tonight.

Absolutely crucial to Kilmarnock when they play well. He was quiet in the loss to Ross County but back to his best tonight.

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Hearts: Gordon, Forrester, Kent, Rowles, Penrice, Spittal, Boateng, Devlin, Forrest, Vargas, Shankland.

Substitutes: Clark, Kingsley, Halkett, Oyegoke, Grant, McKay, Dhanda, Wilson, Boyce.

Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Mayo, Wright, Deas, Ndaba, Armstrong, Lyons, Watson, Kennedy, Vassell, Watkins.

Substitutes: O'Hara, Burroughs, McKenzie, Mackay-Steven, Murray, Cameron, Anderson, Wales, Bainbridge.

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• Hearts have lost just one of their last seven Scottish Premiership games against Kilmarnock (W2 D4), keeping a clean sheet in three of their last four since a 2-1 defeat in April 2023.

• Kilmarnock have only lost one of their last nine Scottish Premiership visits to Hearts (W5 D3), although are winless in their last three (D2 L1).

• Hearts have lost just one of their last 15 home league games (W8 D6), going down 1-0 to Dundee United in September.

• Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes is winless in his last eight away games against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership (D4 L4) since a 2-1 victory with Aberdeen in May 2017.

• Neil Critchley is looking to become the first Hearts manager to win both of his first two Scottish Premiership home games in charge of the club since Robbie Neilson in August 2015.

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Hearts midfielder Beni Baningime could return after missing the last two matches through illness but Yutaro Oda, Gerald Taylor and Calem Nieuwenhof remain sidelined.

Kilmarnock midfielder Liam Donnelly is suspended while Stuart Findlay is out for seven to 10 days with a groin issue. Liam Polworth (calf) remains out, alongside long-term absentee Kyle Magennis.

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Derek McInnes is attempting to solve his side's discipline issues by stamping out needless fouls and complaints during training sessions.

Liam Donnelly's sending off in the 2-1 defeat by Ross County last weekend was the fifth time already this season Killie have finished a game with 10 men.

Captain Kyle Vassell revealed the Rugby Park players are fined for committing "silly fouls" in training and mangager McInnes expanded on the issue while also questioning the consistency of decisions.

He said: "We’ve done it for a while now, for things like pulling.

"Sometimes in training games, players will make a foul and I want us to get away from that so we fine players for that type of thing, pulling players back and stopping promising attacks.

"Also questioning and complaining about dubious refereeing decisions, which is a million because I’m the referee most of the time.

"We introduced that and if anybody annoys me too much they get fined for that.

"So we are just trying to train the players to be more disciplined and more accepting of decisions, good or bad.

"Sometimes I'll make decisions that are clearly wrong, just to test them, and I want us to try and be just a bit more concentrated on everything on the pitch.

"The message to the players is to be squeaky clean, to be really sure about our work."

Despite saying he wants his side to "own" their poor disciplinary record, McInnes has also called for greater consistency in the decision-making process from match officials.

He said: "We've got not to give any sort of opportunities for people to be red-carded, but consistency has got to be there, and it's not there.

"I don't care what anybody says, that isn't there at a minute."

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has been previewing his side’s trip to Tynecastle to face Hearts this midweek.

Here are the key points:

• After defeat at Ross County, he says this is a "brilliant opportunity" to get points back that they lost at the weekend.

• His message to his players is to be "squeaky clean" after another red card last Saturday, their fifth of the season.

• They "have to own" the number of red cards they're receiving as it's impacting team selection and results, and have to make sure the issue stops.

• McInnes reckons his side could be "seven or eight" points better off if they had kept a full complement of players on the pitch.

• He might need to question the "risk" in keeping players on if they receive early bookings, with players also needing to be more savvy.

• McInnes "always expects" a tough game at Tynecastle, but recognises Killie have a good record in Gorgie.

• He praised Hearts' summer recruitment and reveals he "asked about and tried to get" Yan Dhanda, Blair Spittal and James Penrice.

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

The loyal band of Killie fans headed to Dingwall on Saturday full of optimism following a fine win over Rangers only to be let down once again by a ridiculous lack of discipline.

Liam Donnelly's five minutes of madness cost us three points and in the process became our fifth red card of the season.

Earlier in the season the manager stated our disciplinary record wasn't an issue. I'd suggest it's time for him to reassess that opinion.

Our penchant for finishing a game with 10 men has cost us several points and is the difference between challenging for Europe or fighting in the bottom six plus missing a potential trip to Hampden.

It should also be pointed out that the same referee has sent off three Killie players this season and he threatened to make it four with another ridiculous decision involving Joe Wright.

If the same thing happened to any of the big clubs they would be making huge noise about the referee being removed from their games. Killie need to do the same.

Our poor discipline and poor decision-making must stop now and the players causing the issue need a spell on the sidelines to reflect on their actions.

The hard run of games continues with trips to Hearts and Dundee followed by Celtic at the Theatre of Pies. We have been playing well in recent weeks so let's keep that form up and cut out the nonsense.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine