Heart of Midlothian once again go in search of back-to-back league wins in the Scottish Premiership for the first time this season when they travel to Tannadice on Sunday afternoon to take on high-flying Dundee United.
It is approaching nine months since Hearts won back-to-back league games and during that time they have only once won back-to-back matches in all competitions, the first two Neil Critchley took charge of.
Following the 1-0 win over Motherwell, a result that was flattering to the Steelmen, the Jam Tarts face one of the hardest fixtures around with a trip to the City of Discovery to take on Jim Goodwin's side.
While Hearts have had a tough, and at times calamitous, festive period, United have been flying. They followed up a draw with Celtic with three wins in succession, defeating St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Dundee in the 'Tayside', 'New Firm' and Dundee derbies respectively, to rise above the men from the Granite City into third.
Under Goodwin, United have been excellent since returning to the Premiership and in the last week have shown their flexibility. With Declan Gallagher suspended for wins against Dundee and Aberdeen, United switched from their usual back three to a back four. Gallagher is available once more so it will be interesting to see what the Tangerines boss does.
What they do have when they play is a solid defensive shape, wing-backs or full-backs who can provide width, wide men who can move central, a tireless midfield, crafty technicians and a focal point in 6ft3in Sam Dalby who leads the scoring charts in the Premiership with 10 (five of which were headers).
His presence could steer the direction of the Hearts starting XI. Only two players who have played 600 minutes or more in the Premiership win more aerial duels per 90 minutes than Dalby. One of those is Craig Halkett.
Add in the fact that Hearts are the only team to cross the ball more often than United in the Premiership. Here is the kicker though, while Hearts have the second lowest crossing accuracy their opponents have the best and are 13 per cent more accurate.
Who partners Halkett will be fascinating. Jamie McCart could well come straight in, replacing Kye Rowles who is set to depart. The left-sided centre-back is adept at dealing with the direct side of Scottish football. His aerial prowess was excellent during his three seasons with St Johnstone.
It would also be little surprise to see Daniel Oyegoke, who dropped out against Motherwell, restored to the right-back position with Adam Forrester dropping out and then James Penrice on the left. All playing in front of Craig Gordon following his heroics against the Steelmen.
How Critchley configures his midfield is up for debate. Jorge Grant's performances and influence in the last two games don't warrant getting dropped but he seemed to tire toward the end of the Motherwell win. Cammy Devlin is an ever-present at the moment when available. Beni Baningime, Malachi Boateng and Macaulay Tait are all possible options. Critchley could opt for the height of Boateng.
The only question with regard to the front four is whether Elton Kabangu is involved on the bench if Hearts can get the work permit they have been working on. Musa Drammeh has put in plenty of work in recent games but will have plenty of confidence following his match-winning goal last time out. Plus, his work ethic could prove useful against Will Ferry advancing from a deep left position.
