Match preview: Inverness Caledonian Thistle aim to put early dent in Hearts' title hopes at Tynecastle
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
This afternoon will be the second time Inverness Caledonian Thistle travel to Tynecastle this season, but it is potentially a very different prospect facing the Jambos this time around.
Their Betfred Cup opener was being treated as a pre-season match by Caley Thistle boss John Robertson, but his side still put in a creditable performance in a 1–0 defeat.
With players much sharper now, and others starting to return from injury, Inverness have reason to be optimistic going into the match against the pundits' pick for the Championship.
Team News
Inverness Caledonian Thistle: Aaron Doran has trained all week after making a late appearance as a substitute against Arbroath, while James Vincent and Shane Sutherland have both also returned to the group.
Robertson is not going to rush any of those three back into the starting line-up though, as he says they are not yet ready to start – with next week's Betfred Cup matches instead more likely.
Hearts: Josh Ginnelly will continue to miss out for Hearts after watching from the sidelines as Robbie Neilson's side triumphed over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup semi final last week.
Jamie Walker and Jordan Roberts both picked up knocks in the match, and were due to be assessed going into this afternoon's match.
Peter Haring and Steven Naismith on the other hand could be in line to return to the Jambos' starting line-up after impressive showings off the bench at Hampden Park.
Recent form
Inverness Caledonian Thistle: won 3–1 at home against Arbroath, drew 1–1 at home against Ayr United, lost 3–1 away at Dunfermline, drew 0–0 at home against Cowdenbeath (won 4–2 on penalties), lost 1–0 away at Hearts.
Hearts: won 2–1 after extra time against Hibernian at a neutral venue, won 1–0 away at Arbroath, won 6–2 at home against Dundee, won 3–1 at home against Raith Rovers, won 1–0 away at Cowdenbeath.
Head-to-head (all competitions)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 9
Draws 15
Hearts 16
Last five meetings
Hearts 1–0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Betfred Cup, Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Hearts 3–0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Scottish Cup, Saturday, April 13, 2019
Hearts 5–0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Betfred Cup, Sunday, July 29, 2019
Hearts 1–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Premiership, Saturday, February 18, 2017
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–3 Hearts – Premiership, Saturday, October 29, 2016
Ones to watch
Inverness Caledonian Thistle: Roddy MacGregor – despite being just 18 years old, the attacking midfielder has already made over 30 appearances for the Inverness first team.
With other players missing through injury, MacGregor has featured in all of ICT's matches so far this season, and after watching his fellow teenager Daniel Mackay get on the scoresheet against Arbroath last week MacGregor will undoubtedly be keen to get off the mark too.
There is no doubt it will be a test of where MacGregor is at in his development if he gets the nod to play at Tynecastle, but while expectations should be carefully managed there is no doubt a stand-out performance would leave a lasting impression on all involved.
Hearts: Craig Gordon – the experienced goalkeeper will be buoyed by his recent call up to the Scotland squad, but Inverness need to find a way past him if they are to get a result.
That will not be an easy task, with Gordon already keeping three clean sheets in all competitions this season, and the stopper could be key to any potential success Hearts are to have.
The old adage is that attacks win matches, but defences win championships, and Gordon will inevitably be a key man for the Jambos.
ICT manager John Robertson's pre-match thoughts
"Hearts are the favourites because of their budget, they have good players and internationals in their team, so we've got to look at that and see what we feel their strengths are and try and negate them.
"We've got to look at our own strengths too – we always look at how we can play to hurt teams.
"We've got to go down there with a gameplan that we feel is right for us to express ourselves when we have the ball, but as in any game when the opposition have spells on top we have to be brave and stand up to them and defend well as a team to create a platform to go and attack.
"There are a lot of good things we can take from the performance in the League Cup, but we still lost. That's what hurts.
"It was a great night for Robbie and for the players to reach a cup final last week, they will be looking forward to that, but they will switch off from that now because the league is their bread and butter this year.
"That's what they need, they have to get up. That's the pressure that they've got to live with this season – they're expected to win every game and every point and they're expected to win this league comfortably.
"We've got to go down and show them that's not going to be the case."
