Liam Craig's spot-kick is weak and Mark Gillespie has little trouble keeping it out.

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Saints have a spot-kick as Chris Kane is toppled by Alex Rodriguez-Gorrin.

Hearts hitman Uche Ikpeazu shows what he's all about with his first real involvement as the big striker holds the ball up brilliantly, shrugs off a few Dons defenders and then fires in a shot from distance. Nothing to overly-concern keeper Joe Lewis but a possible sign of things to come from the hosts.

St Mirren have been hit by a whirlwind in Paisley as Dundee continue to press. Andrew Nelson manages to squeeze between a ruck of defenders and drives a shot just wide.

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Will we have the first title party of the season today? Arbroath can wrap up League One if they win at Forfar and Raith Rovers lose to East Fife.

Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland

Whistles sound across the country as the action starts. Hold on to your bunnets...

Derek McInnes takes his Aberdeen side to Tynecastle looking to extend their outstanding away form and knows a win will put pressure on second-place Rangers..

He told BBC Scotland: "Tough game. We have managed to find ways of wining on the road and today it will be two teams with their own motivation for winning.

"The strong away form has been really good and hopefully we can keep it going.

"It's the stage of the season when everyone looks at other results but the biggest bearing is dealing with your own results.

"We always look to get closer to the team above us and three points today will help us do that."

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Hearts know a win against Aberdeen will take them above Edinburgh rivals Hibernian in the table and ease any fears of finishing outside the top six, but following a 1-0 defeat at Hamilton last time out, manager Craig Levein has only one thing on his mind.

He told BBC Scotland: “We just want to win. We have a pretty decent home record against Aberdeen and hopefully we can win again today.

“It’s a very exciting time for us. We had a poor performance last time out against Hamilton and went into the international break on the back of that, which is never nice, so the boys have been raring to go.

“I expect a reaction. The games against Aberdeen, here and at Pittodrie, have been very tight. They generally follow the same pattern – loads of energy and effort, particularly early in the match."

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Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke has a sore throat but is able to tell BBC Sportsound that Alan Power should be fit for the midweek trip to Hibs but Eammon Brophy will be "missing for a few weeks".

Kris Boyd returns to the starting line-up and Clarke says the veteran striker has "never worked so hard in training, waiting for his chance".

"It's a day where I need my players to not tax my mind too much," he adds. "I'm not sure the voice would stand up to it."

Dundee manager Jim McIntyre explains his decision to drop Kenny Miller in favour of the returning Andrew Nelson.

He tells BBC Scotland: "We've got Nelson back now and he's scored a lot of important goals for us and we wanted to get him back in the team.

"Him and Craig Curran have formed a good partnership, we've won two of the four games they've started together and drew the other, so it's been a decent points tally.

"It's been a difficult decision because Kenny had played in the last few games but these as the decisions you have to make. There's no doubt Kenny will have a part to play."

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St Mirren manager Oran Kearney gives Danny Mullen his first start since 5 December and says the forward is an obvious choice as they seek a vital win over Dundee.

He tells BBC Scotland: "We've four games in the space of 12 days so it's important we try and share the load.

"Danny knows Scottish football, he knows a day like this, and that's why you hedge your bets on someone like him. He's been flying in training and is raring to go.

"Weeks like this can be pivotal in moving forward, we're both looking for that injection."

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With Hibs overtaking Hearts in the Premiership for the first time this season, the pressure is on Craig Levein's men to jump straight back into fifth place. A home win would also cut the gap on third-placed Aberdeen to two points.

After such a strong start to the season, the back end of last year saw Hearts plateau, with a string of poor performances.

Recent form has remained precarious, with four wins, three draws and three losses, their last outing a 1-0 defeat at Hamilton.

With Steven Naismith out, the contribution of Sean Clare could be vital today since he has found the magic touch to score in three of their last six matches.

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Aberdeen have been sensational on their travels this season, losing just three times on the road, but one of those defeats was at the hands of Hearts.

Of Aberdeen's last five away days, four have been wins, with one draw.

The Dons will have to keep firing if they are to maintain their stellar record since in the last six meetings neither team has taken three points away from home.

Aberdeen were the last team to manage an away success in this fixture, a 2-1 win back in May 2017.

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Jonathan Sutherland
BBC Sport Scotland at Tynecastle

Hearts fans will not have enjoyed last night as Hibs beat Livingston to move fifth and a point ahead of their Edinburgh rivals. Craig Levein’s side also need to keep a wary eye on St Johnstone in seventh place. Hearts' two fixtures before the split after this are far from simple affairs - away to Rangers on Wednesday and the derby at home to Hibs a week today.

Aberdeen can cut the gap on second placed Rangers to five points for 24 hours at least.

So, what do you do when you're bottom of the league and get an early penalty? You certainly don't want to do what Simeon Jackson did at St Johnstone on Wednesday.

If you haven't seen his disastrous attempt at 'a Panenka', check it out below.

Manager Oran Kearney said it was "crazy" and "killed us" after his side lost 1-0. He probably used a few other words in private.

I think it's safe to say Jackson will be off penalty duties for a while... He's on the bench this afternoon.