Heart of Midlothian travel west on Sunday afternoon for an unusual kick-off time as they take on Rangers at Ibrox.

At 5pm they will go in search of their first win in Govan for over a decade.

The club's record at Ibrox is not nearly as bad as the one they broke last season at Celtic Park but it has been heading in that direction. The 2-0 win against the champions was the first time since 2009 that Hearts travelled back from Parkhead victorious.

Hearts' last victory at Rangers could not have been achieved in a more enjoyable fashion. The home side, having levelled late in the opening day of the 2014/15 Championship season, were undone by Osman Sow's sumptuous stoppage-time strike. The away end that day looked like they were collectively bouncing on a trampoline such were the celebrations that day.

Still, the record in general at Ibrox against Rangers this century is woeful. Three wins across 24 years. In general, it is three across 28 years. You have to go back to January 1996 and that devastating performance from Allan Johnston for the win before that. 

Therefore, an appropriate quiz question to ask your fellow Jambos as you make your way along the M8 or wait for the game to kick off on Premier Sports, who are the three players to score winning goals for Hearts at Ibrox this century? You already have one answer (the other two will be at the bottom of this article).

This afternoon should present an excellent opportunity for someone, anyone, to add their name to that list. While Hearts are coming off the back of a European night on Thursday, so are their opponents. Rangers drew 1-1 in Greece against Olympiakos. On top of that, it hasn't been a good season for Philippe Clement and his players. They sit third in the Premiership. The fans, in general, are unhappy with the direction of the club on and off the field.

If Hearts can start the match in a similar fashion to recent matches under Neil Critchley they could make it a very difficult atmosphere for the home team.


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The men in maroon were excellent in the first half against Heidenheim in the Conference League on Thursday night. On another day they could, and should, have won comfortably. 

One area of note, however, is the second half. Hearts are yet to concede under Critchley in the first half with all goals coming after the interval.

"I watched a lot of their game against Olympiakos and they've got good players," the Hearts head coach said. "You go to Olympiakos and draw and that's a good point away from home. They've done well in Europe so far so you know you're going to have to do certain things well at Ibrox if you want to win a game of football.

"But if we can go there and produce a similar type of performance, we don't have long between the games but neither do they. We're in the same boat, aren't we? They've had to travel so let's recover, let's prepare in the short period of time that we've got and let's go again."

The likelihood is another couple of changes to the starting XI.

"I've got 48 hours to decide that," Critchley said after Thursday's defeat. "We'll see, I think lots of the players played well tonight, I thought there were lots of good performances. So it'll be some tough decisions to make."

(Image: Hearts Standard) Fans will have discussed the possibility of starting Kenneth Vargas through the middle, utilising his pace with Lawrence Shankland on the ball. You would then miss a focal point to hold the ball in, even if the captain has fallen below what many expect of him this campaign.

Vargas is likely to return to the starting XI, perhaps in the place of Yan Dhanda, and could line-up beside Blair Spittal and Alan Forrest behind Shankland. Alternatively, Spittal could be moved to a wider role and Jorge Grant brought in alongside Beni Baningime and Malachi Boateng.

In defence, expect the right-back rotation to continue and Kye Rowles, and his pace, to come back into the team for Stephen Kingsley.


The last three Hearts players to score winning goals at Ibrox: Joe Hamill (2004), Jamie Hamill (2012), Osman Sow (2014).