The 2022-23 Scottish Premiership will be kickstarting on Saturday, and Hearts will be welcoming Ross County to Tynecastle Stadium to get their respective campaigns underway.
Last season both clubs managed to finish in the top half of the division, which is a feat they hope to repeat as they now look to close the gap on the Old Firm duo.
Match preview
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Hearts should head into this game feeling prepared due to the fact that they have had a busy, and successful pre-season throughout the summer, having played in seven different matches.
They have faced a variety of opponents from different leagues, but the main positive for the club is the fact they only lost once throughout that period.
Considering the fact they ended last season by being beaten 2-0 in the Scottish Cup final by Rangers, Robbie Neilson has done a good job of quickly rebuilding the confidence of his men.
The Jambos finished third place last season, and while that was a good achievement there was a 28-point gap between them and the Gers in second place.
Hearts now will be looking to shrink the gap in order to provide more of a threat at the top of the division, and considering they only lost four times at home in the league in the previous campaign, they should have the belief that they can achieve that.
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While the hosts have been performing well in pre-season, the visitors have actually started their competitive campaign already due to their involvement in the Scottish League Cup group stage.
This has seen the Staggies compete in four matches so far, and they have looked impressive during that period as they won all of them.
Even though the first of those games had to be solved via a penalty shootout, since that point there has been no looking back, winning the next three in the standard 90 minutes, scoring 10 while conceding zero.
Owura Edwards and Kazeem Olaigbe both got braces in their most recent outing, which saw them defeat East Fife 7-0, in a match that will have provided plenty of confidence to the group.
Last season Ross County managed just five wins on the road in the Scottish Premiership, which is something that they shall be hoping to start trying to improve upon from their first outing this weekend.
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Team News
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Neilson recently penned a contract extension with Hearts to secure his future at the club, and he will be hoping to celebrate that new deal by guiding his team to victory this Saturday.
Ewan Simpson recently left Hearts, but new signing Lawrence Shankland scored a brace against Stoke City in their most recent outing, proving that he could be a vital addition to the club this season.
The visitors have lost a couple of key players throughout the summer with Blair Spittal and Regan Charles-Cook both moving on from the Staggies, which is something that they will be trying to cope with early on in the campaign.
Coming off the back of an impressive 7-0 victory, there is a good chance that there will be no changes made to the Ross County lineup, although Olaigbe could be an option from the start this time around.
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Stewart; Atkinson, Halliday, Neilson, Sibbick; Cochrane, Forrest, Grant, Boyce; Shankland, Mackay-Steven
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Randall, Baldwin, Iacovitti, Purrington; Callachan, Loturi; Edwards, Olaigbe, Sims; Hiwula
We say: Hearts 2-1 Ross County
The opening game of the season is an important one for any club as it helps to build momentum and belief for the rest of the campaign, and both of these teams are heading into Saturday in good form.
While Ross County have already been playing competitive matches this summer, it is Hearts that boast the stronger squad on paper, and with their form in the 2021-22 campaign, they should just edge this one.
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