The last time Heart of Midlothian visited Easter Road, they arrived in terrific form, unbeaten in five and having just recorded a trio of victories at Celtic Park, the Falkirk Stadium and at home to Rangers.
They could barely have got off to a worse start, conceding three minutes in when a simple crossfield pass put Nicky Cadden one-on-one with Michael Steinwender before the winger found an unmarked Jamie McGrath.
Just before half-time, McGrath created a similar situation down the left, this time up against Oisin McEntee to pick out Josh Campbell to make it 2-0. By then, McGrath had moved to the left-wingback spot that Cadden vacated after going off injured.
Hearts fell further behind early in the second half when Hibs, who had pressed them well to that point, forced Staurt Findlay into an error and Kieron Bowie capitalised.
That pressing relented somewhat after Josh Mulligan was withdrawn and by then Derek McInnes had made a double half-time substitution, taking off McEntee and Stephen Kingsley for Harry Milne and Beni Baningime.
He also switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a back three, matching Hibs’ shape. It took them a little while to get to grips with the game in the second half, but once Hearts did, they very nearly snatched a point.
That chance fell to Lawrence Shankland near the end of the game when he looked to have equalised before being denied by the foot of Raphael Sallinger. It came from a cross, the same method as his goal and the good chance he spurned in the first half at 1-0.
Even Devlin’s goal to make it 3-2, though scored from a rebound, initially came from an attack down the right wing that was cut back to the edge of the box with plenty of bodies in the penalty area.
That game will certainly be on McInnes’ mind going into Sunday's massive Edinburgh derby, not least ensuring his side gets off to a better start. “We’ve got to try and gain the initiative,” he told the Scarves Around The Funnel podcast this week. “Certainly not lose the initiative in the early part. Sometimes you need to make sure you’re on point and on your job right from the start.
“We got off to a poor start [the last time at Easter Road] and we gave them encouragement and gave them confidence and gave them the belief that they can go and win.
SATF EXCLUSIVE - Derek McInnes joins us this week for a blether.
Among a host of topics discussed, the Hearts boss says there WON’T be a repeat on Sunday of their performance at Easter Road back in December… pic.twitter.com/axOr6JsLUN— Scarves Around The Funnel (@AroundTheFunnel) April 21, 2026
“And we’ve got to acknowledge that we were the biggest part in our own downfall that day.
“But, as you expect from our team, we responded brilliantly and could have got something at the end.”
The changes he made at half-time in that December game may also influence his team selection for Sunday. Firstly, the shape.
Hearts had more joy when they matched Hibs’ formation, going 3v3 in the centre of midfield.
This was the thinking behind the Hearts line-up for the most recent game against Motherwell. McInnes selected 11 players who lined up in a lopsided back three, though with the flexibility to switch to a 4-4-2 if required. McInnes’ formation if Hearts are “chasing a goal”, he said after that game.
And as he did ahead of going head-to-head with Jens Berthel Askou, McInnes could start from his strike pairing and work backwards. With 34 goals between them this season , Shankland should partner Claudio Braga in attack.
Whether it’s Baningime, Devlin and Blair Spittal – or Marc Leonard back in for one of those – the Hearts boss will then likely want three players in the middle of the park to match Hibs’ three, as to not lose the initiative early in the game like last time at Easter Road.
That means a back three and a decision to be made about the right side , especially after McEntee was ruled out.
Milne came on at half-time during the last game at Easter Road but played on the right, asked to help nullify McGrath who had by then moved to wingback after Cadden was forced off injured.
With Milne a doubt going into Sunday, that option probably won’t be available from the start. Alexandros Kyziridis started on the right for Hearts in the previous game against Motherwell, with McInnes conscious of the threat of their left side .
Read more
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- Why Hearts Spain trip was a success, team of the year and Cammy Devlin contract
- What Oisin McEntee's injury means for Hearts right-back situation and the solutions
- The Hearts wins Derek McInnes enjoyed the most and when title talk became real
The Greek started on the right in the 3-2 loss in December but as an out-and-out winger as opposed to a wingback. On Sunday, he could be deployed similarly to his wing-back role against Motherwell. Jordi Altena is a more natural option.
Matching Hibs’ shape, if that's what McInnes chooses to do, especially going man-for-man in the centre of the park, will make individual battles key.
“You don’t have to be brilliant in a derby game, but you do have to be competitive for the full 90-odd minutes,” McInnes went on to say on Scarves Around The Funnel.
“We have to make sure we are exactly that and hopefully we can be good enough to get out the other side of it.”
And with both sides keen to get the ball wide and put crosses into the box, those areas could be crucial on the day – whether it is Kingsley or Milne up against Felix Passlack, or Kyziridis or Altena versus Cadden or Jonathan Obita.
Hibs have attempted more crosses than any other Premiership team this season (see graph below), while, as detailed earlier, many of Hearts’ chances in the previous game at Easter Road came from wide areas.
As did the two goals they scored in the 1-0 wins at Tynecastle.
Whatever the set-up from Hearts come 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon, getting off to a better start than last time at the venue is paramount.
After that, if previous Edinburgh derbies are anything to go by, there will not be much in it.
The stakes could not be higher for the away side, while Hibs will be as motivated as they have been all season – determined not to allow their capital rivals to celebrate another step towards the title on their own patch.
And regardless of how the game starts, Hearts have the players and the bench to switch things up, and to do damage in the latter parts of the game; something we saw both in the second half at Easter Road and on many other occasions this season.
