Why Grant and Forrest have to start for Hearts against Aberdeen

The Dons came from behind to win 2-1 at Pittodrie in December, but this is a fixture that tends to be dominated by the home side, and Hearts' 2-1 victory in Gorgie earlier in the season will leave supporters feeling cautiously optimistic.

There are still some big questions that remain unanswered. After the team's poor first half against Dundee, will Naismith stick with the back three? Could we see Macaulay Tait handed a start after his impressive cameo off the bench on Tuesday night? And where does Alan Forrest play?

Joel Sked and James Cairney talk us through their predicted line-ups below. The pair are in agreement - but for different reasons.

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Joel Sked

Late on Tuesday night, once the come-from-behind victory over Dundee had been digested, the mind drifted towards Saturday and what team we would see start the match against the Dons. The more thought that was put into it, the more I wrestled with it, the more difficult it became to settle on both the system and personnel.

Hearts were far better against Dundee following the switch to a back four at the interval. Naturally, it led to fans questioning the back three. The three-man backline is always treated with a degree of suspicion at Tynecastle when coming up against teams deemed as lesser in the Premiership. But it has produced results. The team looked more solid with the change to the system brought on by defeat to Celtic at Tynecastle Park. 

There are of course pros and cons to both. The 4-3-3 gives much more attacking width and as shown against Dundee the full-backs can provide overlaps that allowed the team to overload central areas. The back three provides a more solid foundation and allows for greater control.

I reckon Naismith will stick with the 3-1-4-2 (although I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see a back four). The reason is that I think Barry Robson will revert to the 3-5-2 and that means having a spare centre-back to go up against Bojan Miovski and either Ester Sokler or Duk will prove useful.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Shankland works better in a partnership. Naismith is keen to make a change or two in his attack from game to game and therefore I'm of the view Alan Forrest will star, the versatile forward is trusted in the biggest games. In addition, Jorge Grant will come back in to give the team more creative solutions in the final third.

'Where is Macaulay Tait?' I hear you ask - and quite rightly so! Again, this is just a feeling Naismith will lean on experience in the midfield and have Tait as an option from the bench, knowing he can help steer the game in whichever direction is required.

The XI selected also provides flexibility. Naismith could easily switch to a 4-3-3 in the game without making a sub.

As I finish writing all of the above, I am second-guessing myself...

Predicted line-up: Clark; Kent, Halkett, Kingsley; Baningime; Lembikisa, Nieuwenhof, Grant, Cochrane; Shankland, Forrest.

or...

Clark; Lembikisa, Kent, Halkett, Kingsley; Baningime, Cochrane, Grant; Vargas, Shankland, Forrest.

READ MORE: Hearts boss Steven Naismith confident of sealing move for Scott Fraser despite delay

James Cairney

Hearts got a lot of joy after switching to a 4-2-3-1 for the second half against Dundee, but I still expect Naismith to stick with the back three for this one. Aberdeen represent a different sort of challenge to Tony Docherty’s team, and an extra defender wouldn’t go amiss. The Dons showed in December’s 2-1 win at Pittodrie that they can be lethal on the counter-attack if the gaps are there to exploit, and the 3-5-2 goes a long way to restricting space out wide while still leaving a man or two to protect the centre.

Craig Gordon’s return against The Spartans will have provided Naismith with plenty of food for thought over who to start between the sticks between now and the end of the season, but I would be surprised if the veteran shot-stopper was restored to the starting XI on Saturday. It’s a huge game in the race for third and if Gordon was deemed second-best to Zander Clark for the Dundee game, I can’t see how the 41-year-old nudges ahead of the former St Johnstone keeper for this one. I think we’ll see Gordon back in the Premiership soon enough, although we may have to wait until a fixture against a side towards the bottom end of the standings.

Frankie Kent, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley will comprise the back three – that much is obvious – and it’s hard to look beyond Alex Cochrane and Dexter Lembikisa for the two wing-back slots. The former had an uncharacteristic off-night on Tuesday but has been one of the team’s most consistent performers this season; the latter, meanwhile, was the worthy recipient of the Man of the Match award against Dundee and is surely nailed on to hold onto his place.

Beni Baningime picked up a niggle midweek, as did Aidan Denholm, but the pair are both in contention for Saturday’s game. I think we’ll see Baningime in his usual No.6 position, and I expect Jorge Grant to start ahead of Denholm. The midfield was sorely lacking in creativity during the first half against Dundee without the Englishman and if Naismith opts for the 3-5-2, then a little more invention is required. I expect we’ll see Calem Nieuwenhof, fresh from scoring his first goal in maroon, round off the midfield.

Barring any last-minute disasters, Shankland will obviously lead the line in attack, and I think we’ll see Alan Forrest partnering him. The two former Ayr United players did so admirably in the 2-0 win at Celtic Park and on current form, Forrest is close to becoming undroppable. His brace of assists against Dundee further underlined his value to the team and although Kenneth Vargas is unfortunate to miss out, I think Forrest has to start.

Predicted line-up: Clark; Kent, Halkett, Kingsley; Baningime; Lembikisa, Nieuwenhof, Grant, Cochrane; Shankland, Forrest.