Derek McInnes will be looking for a response from his Heart of Midlothian players after last week's defeat, only their third of the league season.
There is no better game to do so than a midweek Edinburgh derby under the lights at Tynecastle Park.
The atmosphere will take care of itself. Players being up for the occasion is also a given; it may need to be curbed slightly, if anything.
McInnes’ main task is to pick the right combination of players to best get at Hibernian.
Much was made of the team selection after the defeat to St Mirren and those same areas are likely where the Hearts boss has decisions to make.
The right side
Right-back has been a bone of contention for some all season, even during good runs of form.
Christian Borchgrevink is back training but was signed before McInnes arrived and has only started one league game so far.
Many want Jordi Altena in from the start and while he has had a few good performances, he has struggled at times defensively.
Hibs’ Nicky Cadden came on late at left-wingback in their most recent game, a 3-2 win against Dundee United, to put in two set-piece deliveries that helped turn a 2-1 deficit into a victory.
At Easter Road in the previous Edinburgh derby, Cadden didn’t last long before going off injured. Before he did, he put in the delivery that Jamie McGrath opened the scoring from.
Michael Steinwender was guilty of not stopping that cross and had a poor first half in general that day, but has largely been a dependable defensive full-back. He can also tuck in as a third centre-back against Hibs’ front two, allowing Harry Milne to push forward.
Oisin McEntee played ahead of Steinwender but tucked in as a third midfielder last week at St Mirren. For extra insurance against Hibs, he could be asked to do similar but to play slightly more wide to track the runs of Cadden and stop his crosses.
Midfield
After managing to find a nice balance in midfield in the absence of Cammy Devlin and Beni Baningime, things didn’t quite go to plan for the latter’s return last week.
Baningime was missing from the starting XI in the previous Edinburgh derby due to injury. He made a positive difference when he came off the bench. Afterwards, McInnes spoke about the lack of control without him.
During his suspension, Hearts brought in Marc Leonard and he has brought a similar control to that of Baningime.
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Could it be that McInnes decides to go with one or the other against Hibs?
Tomas Magnusson brings a goal threat that the other two lack and McEntee is versatile and invaluable at set pieces in both boxes.
Leonard could have the edge over Baningime given his recent form and because he has assumed responsibility for a lot of the set plays.
Possible back three?
Hibs started their game against United in a slightly different shape. Usually a 3-4-1-2, David Gray tweaked it to more of a 3-4-3 with Elie Youan and Martin Boyle either side of Dane Scarlett.
Given that it is a derby away from home, Gray may return to a three-man midfield and a front two, possibly bringing in Josh Campbell for Youan, or Jamie McGrath if he is deemed fit enough to start.
Sometimes McInnes likes to have a back three against a front two, and with Craig Halkett suspended, it is something he could consider.
Frankie Kent seems the most likely to replace Halkett though, as mentioned above, rather than starting with a three-man defence, having Steinwender at right-back allows the shape to become one if required.
Rogers Mato and Islam Chesnokov
Excitement has built up with the two attackers added in the January window and McInnes is making sure they aren’t thrown in too soon.
The head coach is hoping they can have an impact in Tuesday’s derby but at this point it seems more likely that one or both will make an impact from the bench.
Expect the same front three that hardly had the chance to get into the game last week before Hearts were reduced to 10 men for the third time in five league matches.
Alexandros Kyziridis was back to close to his best in the recent win at Tannadice and was the player unfortunately sacrificed to change shape against St Mirren.
Landry Kabore had a tough evening in Paisley but also performed well in the previous game, scoring a double as he finally has a run in the team as the No.9.
Conclusion
The more players that return and get up to speed, the more difficult it is for McInnes to select 11 players – and the more difficult it is to predict what he is going to do.
The starting line-up shouldn’t be too far away from the following graphics, an 11 that could line up in several different ways.
