Hibs' Steven Whittaker has bags of experience and a lovely touch on the ball but he's not as quick as Martin Boyle. Nowhere near it.

A couple of passes have been lofted down Boyle's regular beat on right flank, with Whittaker a long way behind the action.

Olly Lee swings in the game's first good cross and Steven Naismith meets it in the Hibs penalty area only for the imposing figure of Efe Ambrose to quickly close him down and take the sting right out of the striker's connection.

Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound

It's typically fast and frantic, with both sets of players snapping into tackles in a congested midfield and the fans in good voice...

And we're off... A packed Easter Road is looking great under the lights.

Hearts manager Craig Levein tells BBC Sportsound: "We’ve competed very well in the last few derbies, but not passed the ball as well as we could do. I’m hoping we can control the midfield area by putting an extra body in there.

"I know Hibs have got some injury problems so both teams won’t be putting out their starting elevens. It’s often the case and you just have to deal with what’s in front of you.

"We won’t be any less competitive than in our recent matches."

Hibernian manager Neil Lennon tells BBC Sportsound: "We needed to freshen things up and Steven Whittaker brings experience and physicality. We've crammed a quarter of a season into a month and it's taken its toll. This period is very demanding for everyone.

"We'll see how the game settles after 10-15 minutes but the players are champing at the bit.

"A derby takes care of itself. It's important to get the mindset right and not be too emotional, you need to earn the right to play."

The teams played out a 0-0 draw at Tynecastle back in October. You will remember that Hibernian boss Neil Lennon was hit with a coin thrown from the main stand, Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal was involved in an incident with a fan and flares were thrown on to the pitch.

There was also a red card for Hibs striker Florian Kamberi and a late disallowed goal for the hosts. Given all of the drama, most of it unsavoury, it may seem odd to say but it really was a terrible game, with very few chances created in front of goal.

Let's hope for a big improvement...

Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound

It was April 2014 when we last had an away win in an Edinburgh derby, with 14 games passing since. Hibs are going for a sixth successive home success against their old rivals this evening.

Hibs make four changes from the 1-1 draw at Ibrox, with Steven Whittaker, Sean Mackie, Daryl Horgan and Oli Shaw coming in.

Martin Boyle, Jamie Maclaren are away at the Asian Cup, while Emerson Hyndman drops to the bench.

Hearts drop striker Steven MacLean to the bench, along with Callumn Morrison, with Sean Clare joining the attack and Clevid Dikamona selected as both teams go with three central defenders.

Image source, BBC Sport

Hibernian: Bogdan, Ambrose, Hanlon, McGregor, Whittaker, Mackie, Mallan, Horgan, Slivka, Kamberi, Shaw.

Substitutes: Dabrowski, Gray, Bartley, Hyndman, Allan, Gullan, Campbell.

Hearts: Doyle, Smith, Dikamona, Berra, Godinho, Lee, Haring, Djoum, Garuccio, Clare, Naismith.

Substitutes: Zlamal, Bozanic, Mitchell, Hughes, MacLean, Mulraney, Morrison.

Image source, BBC Sport

Hearts started the season with a bang and were five points clear at the top after seven unbeaten Premiership games. But the wheels came off after a spate of injuries to key players and Craig Levein's side have won just two of their past 10 league games.

Hibs, who were second in the table after eight matches, have also found wins hard to come by, taking maximum points just twice in their past 12 league outings. However, they are unbeaten in six, including a home win against Celtic and draws home and away against Rangers.

With Martin Boyle, Jamie Maclaren and Mark Milligan called up to the Australia squad, Hibs could have requested a change of dates for this one, applying SPFL rule G7. Cancelling the end of year derby would not have been a very popular move with supporters but the home side are also dealing with a long list of injuries, with regular defenders Ryan Porteous and Lewis Stevenson missing, along with Miquel Nelom, Thomas Agyepong and Ofir Marciano.

"We're down to the bare bones," said manager Neil Lennon yesterday. "But we've been running on fumes in terms of the squad for weeks anyway and the lads are playing well. They've looked more like themselves, which augers well. "We want to play the game, we are six unbeaten."

Image source, SNS

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The goals were all scruffy, which was largely in keeping with the match. Aberdeen end the year three points off top spot.

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