Does Tait start against Rangers and where does McKay fit in?

Joel Sked and James Cairney talk us through their predicted line-ups - and, just for a change, they can't even agree on the team's shape.

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Joel Sked

A win is required for Hearts to not only complete the clean sweep of defeating teams in the Premiership this season but also to reach the target of 70 points in recent weeks. And once more the big decision is between a back four and a back three and on this occasion I reckon Steven Naismith will opt for the latter with it perhaps bringing the best balance, especially in attack.

And that's where we will start. While I would very much like to see Kyosuke Tagawa start alongside Lawrence Shankland as a front pairing after his first-ever Premiership goal midweek I would be surprised to see the Japanese striker in from the start. Instead, Barrie McKay and Kenneth Vargas could start in a set-up we saw quite often last season. The Costa Rican to play through the middle with McKay and Shankland in deeper roles. The former drifting wide left with Shankland operating as a No.10 almost.

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In turn, when Hearts have possession, the formation could resemble 4-1-4-1 with Dexter Lembikisa pushed up high from right-back, Beni Baningime holding the fort and Cammy Devlin also moving forward to support. Further back Stephen Kingsley can shuffle across to cover the right-hand side. 

Every Hearts fans in attendance will want the team to go after a Rangers side who may be deflated after losing the title once more and have a raft of injuries to deal with.

Predicted line-up: Gordon; Kingsley, Kent, Rowles; Lembikisa, Baningime, Devlin, Cochrane; Vargas, Shankland, McKay.

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James Cairney

There might not be much to play for on paper in Hearts’ last game of the season, but try telling that to Steven Naismith and his players. Rangers have consistently been a thorn in Hearts’ side this term – Philippe Clement’s men have won all five meetings between the two teams – and so Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off represents one last chance to get that monkey off the team’s back. Add in the incentive of becoming only the second Hearts team to breach the 70-point barrier, and the men in maroon have every reason to take this game just as seriously as any other.

For that reason, I think we’ll see Naismith name pretty much a full-strength team, particularly after rotating heavily midweek. In Hearts’ last encounter with Rangers, the 2-0 defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-final, the tactical set-up was largely working, only for decision-making in the final third to let the team down. I suspect we’ll see Naismith opt for a similar set-up on Saturday – but hopefully with a different outcome this time around.

I think we’ll see the team line up in a 4-3-3. I’d expect Craig Gordon to retain his place in goal in order to boost his chances of being included in the Scotland squad for the Euros, and I reckon we’ll see Kye Rowles and Frankie Kent at centre-back once again. Alex Cochrane was dropped for the semi-final and so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stephen Kingsley return to the starting XI at the Englishman’s expense, while I think Naismith will go for Dexter Lembikisa at right-back.

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Beni Baningime is surely a shoo-in to start in his usual berth at the base of midfield, and I can’t see Cammy Devlin being dropped on current form. That leaves one more place in the middle, and I think Macaulay Tait could fill it. With Jorge Grant returning from an illness and Scott Fraser having played the full 90 against St Mirren, Tait is probably the freshest of the three – and I would imagine that Naismith will want to give the teenager a chance to atone for his error in the build-up to Rangers’ second at Hampden.

On the right I think we’ll see Kenneth Vargas and on the opposite flank, I think Barrie McKay will get the nod. As mentioned previously, decision making in the final third cost Hearts dearly in the last meeting with Rangers, and McKay certainly provides that on paper. It’s also an opportunity for the playmaker, considered by some fans to be something of a flat-track bully, to show that he can mix it in the big games too. And, as much as I’d like to see Kyosuke Tagawa given a chance to build on his goal against the Buddies, I can’t imagine Lawrence Shankland ever being dropped for this one.

Predicted line-up: Gordon; Lembikisa, Kent, Rowles, Kingsley; Baningime, Devlin, Tait; Vargas, Shankland, McKay.