The Jam Tarts will head into the midweek clash seeking to get one over the visitors, having suffered defeat in each of their last four encounters since February 2019.

Match preview

Hearts' Barrie McKay in action with Celtic's Cameron Carter-Vickers on January 26, 2022 © Reuters

Hearts turned in a resilient team performance last Sunday when they fought back from behind to claim a hard-earned 3-2 victory over St. Johnstone on home turf.

Kye Rowles and Liam Boyce scored in a six-minute spell to cancel out Graham Carey's sixth-minute opener and after Andy Considine restored parity for the visitors in the 54th minute, Lawrence Shankland converted his 81st-minute penalty to secure all three points.

Prior to that, Robbie Neilson's men were on a three-game losing streak across all competitions — a run which saw them miss out on a place in the Europa League group stages as they were between 3-1 by FC Zurich, losing both home and away fixtures to the Swiss champions.

The Jam Tarts will now look to carry on with the momentum from Sunday's result as they attempt to surpass their 2021-22 Scottish League Cup run, where they were sent packing in the second round courtesy of a 3-2 loss against eventual winners Celtic.

Hearts, who were beaten 2-0 by Rangers in the Scottish Cup final back in May, head into Wednesday on a run of four wins from their last five games in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and conceding five since the start of July.

Hibernian's Elias Melkersen in action with Hearts' Toby Sibbick on April 16, 2022 © Reuters

Like the hosts, Kilmarnock returned to winning ways at the weekend when they fought back from behind to edge out Motherwell 2-1 when the sides met at the Rugby Park.

After trailing 1-0 at half time courtesy of Kevin van Veen's 14th-minute strike, the home side upped the ante in the final 20 minutes of the game as Danny Armstrong and Ash Taylor both found the target to complete an impressive comeback.

Killie previously failed to taste victory in their opening four games of the new Premiership campaign as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee United in their league opener on July 30 before losing their subsequent three games.

Kilmarnock now turn their attention to the League Cup, where they came through the qualifiers as one of the three best runners-up in the group stages after claiming 10 points from their four games to finish one point off first-placed Patrick Thistle.

Derek McInnes's men will fancy their chances of kicking off their cup campaign on a high as they take a trip to the Tynecastle Stadium where they are currently on a run of four consecutive victories and are unbeaten in their last six visits, claiming five wins and one draw since a 4-0 loss in December 2016.

Hearts form (all competitions):

Kilmarnock Scottish League Cup form:

Kilmarnock form (all competitions):

Team News

Hearts' manager Robbie Neilson on January 26, 2022 © Reuters

Hearts will take to the pitch without 27-year-old defender Craig Halket, who has missed the last three games after coming off injured against Zurich on August 18.

He is joined on the Jam Tarts's injury table by Beni Baningime, who has been sidelined since March when he suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament.

Scottish defender Stephen Kingsley missed last weekend's game against St. Johnstone due to a recurring hamstring problem, while Kye Rowles and Liam Boyce are both major doubts after they were forced off with first-half injuries against the Saints.

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock will be without former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Zach Hemming, who picked up an injury in July's pre-season game against Montrose.

Scott Robinson (heel), Jeriel Dorsett (knee) and Wigan Athletic loanee Jordan Jones (thigh) are also recuperating from injuries and will play no part in Wednesday's matchup.

Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Atkinson, Rowles, Kingsley, Halliday; Devlin, Grant; Forrest, Boyce, McKay; Shankland

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Walker; Wright, Taylor, Mayo; Alebiosu, Power, Polworth, Murray; McKenzie; Lafferty, Shaw

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We say: Hearts 2-1 Kilmarnock

Both sides, who saw their respective losing streaks come to an end at the weekend, will head into Wednesday with renewed confidence as they look to kick off their cup campaign on a high. Hearts have won three of their last four home games and we are backing them to squeeze out a narrow win against Kilmarnock, who have lost their two away games this season.

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