Heart of Midlothian are back in league action on Saturday when they host Motherwell at Tynecastle Park.

Steven Naismith provided an update on the injury situation earlier today when he revealed that although Craig Halkett and Kyosuke Tagawa will miss out, Kenneth Vargas and Yutaro Oda will be available. With Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles back from the Asian Cup, will Naismith stick with Dexter Lembikisa and Stephen Kingsley, or twist and give the Aussies game time?  

The Hearts head coach has plenty of options to choose from, and there are one or two areas where the former Scotland internationalist has some big calls to make.

Below, Joel Sked and James Cairney talk us through their predicted line-ups for Saturday's match against Stuart Kettlewell's side - and the pair are in disagreement in a couple of important areas.

READ MORE: Steven Naismith provides Hearts injury update including positive Halkett news

JOEL SKED

Once again it will be a case of one, two, maybe three tweaks to the line-up than any wholesale changes for Steven Naismith, such is the way he operates from game to game. While Craig Gordon performed well once more in the Scottish Cup, it does seem that Zander Clark is currently the regular No.1 and will therefore come back in.

Frankie Kent for Craig Halkett is a straight and obvious swap. The summer signing had started every game until the win over Airdrieonians. Despite being on the bench he was effectively given the afternoon off. Even when Halkett was injured it was Kye Rowles who came back in. The Aussie was away for the Asian Cup and has built a good relationship with Kent but since his absence, Stephen Kingsley has been excellent as the left-sided centre-back.

I think, between now and the end of the season, when Hearts play with a midfield three, we will see Scott Fraser and Jorge Grant be interchanged. Fraser started on the bench last time out before coming on and providing an assist as he gets up to speed on how Hearts operate and the general tumult of life in a Premiership midfield.

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Those are the only changes I can foresee. Naismith has enjoyed changing up his forward players. Kenneth Vargas would be the obvious switch due to a slight issue in the win over Airdrie when he was taken off at half-time. But something Naismith said recently when discussing Alan Forrest stands out. 

"When someone is on such a high everything is easy for them so that fatigue isn't there because they are loving and enjoying every moment of it and you tend to find that's when they come up with big moments."

All three of Forrest, Vargas and Shankland are in good moments and playing with confidence. Therefore I believe he will stick with that trio. The most dangerous trio he has available.

Predicted XI: Clark; Lembikisa, Kent, Kingsley, Cochrane; Baningime, Nieuwenhof, Fraser; Vargas, Shankland, Forrest

READ MORE: Assessing the Hearts squad: Depth, development and transfer potential

JAMES CAIRNEY

I expect we’ll see Naismith stick with the back four for this one but I think we will see quite a few changes to the team that started against Airdrieonians last week. It seems as though Craig Gordon will be used in the Scottish Cup for the remainder of the season, and so I think we’ll see Zander Clark restored to the starting XI against Motherwell.

Both Kye Rowles and Nathaniel Atkinson were second-half substitutes last weekend after their involvement at the Asian Cup was cut short, and I’d expect both of the Aussies to start against Motherwell. The back four means that one of Frankie Kent, Stephen Kingsley, Rowles or Alex Cochrane has to miss out and on this occasion I think it will be Kingsley who’s left with the short straw, purely because Rowles will need some minutes to get fully back up to speed.

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Beni Baningime is a shoo-in to start at the base of midfield, while Calem Nieuwenhof’s upturn in form in recent weeks makes the Australian one of the first names on Naismith’s team sheet. That leaves just one place for a creative-type midfielder, and Scott Fraser and Jorge Grant are the two obvious candidates. The latter started against Airdrie before being hooked for the former in the 66th minute. A first start in the league seems like a fitting reward for a player who registered his first assist for Hearts last weekend.

The front three picks itself at this point. Lawrence Shankland is undroppable, as is Alan Forrest on current form, and Kenneth Vargas is enjoying a purple patch of his own at the moment. Yutaro Oda will be available for selection again after missing last weekend’s trip to the Excelsior, but his inconsistency works against him – particularly at a time when Vargas has become more reliable.

Predicted line-up: Clark; Atkinson, Kent, Rowles, Cochrane; Baningime, Nieuwenhof, Fraser; Vargas, Shankland, Forrest.