Alloa Athletic v Hearts: injury news, starting XI, odds, how to watch

The club’s last two fixtures have been postponed due to the freezing temperatures and snow which have hit the country.

Robbie Neilson, however, is thankful that his team are still able to play after the Scottish FA postponed all football below the Scottish Championship.

Despite defeat to Dundee at Dens Park, Hearts still have a five point advantage at the top of the table. It is a lead which could be cut to two points if Dunfermline Athletic defeat Greenock Morton on Friday night.

They will be looking to get back to winning ways against Alloa, while trying to gain some sort of revenge for the 1-0 loss at the Indodrill Stadium last time out in the Betfred Cup.

The Wasps sit second bottom of the league and are without a win since December 19. They were defeated 3-2 by League One Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup.

Team news: Liam Boyce should be in the team after missing the game with Dundee. The striker was set to return for the midweek clash with Dunfermline before it was postponed due to the Pars’ rearranged Scottish Cup tie with Morton which didn’t go ahead in the end. Josh Ginnelly and Michael Smith should also be back after both returned positive Covid-19 tests, Ginnelly at the end of December and Smith at the beginning of January. Gary Mackay-Steven could be involved but hasn’t played since November. John Souttar is still some way from first-team action but made a welcome return to running.

Possible XI: Gordon; Smith, Halkett, Berra, Kingsley; Irving, Halliday, Lee; Naismith, Boyce, Ginnelly.

What Neilson said: “Having no game last weekend gave us time to get people rested and recovered. We're also going into quite a heavy schedule over the next few weeks. There have been games cancelled and they will need to be rearranged so we are just desperate to get everyone back available.”

Match details: Saturday, January 16. Kick-off 3pm at the Indodrill Stadium, Alloa.

How to watch: Alloa are offering PPV for the match for £12. It can be purchased here.

Last meeting: Hearts fell to defeat in the Betfred Cup. The match went all the way to extra-time with the Wasps winning it through a disputed penalty which was converted by Alan Trouten. Robbie Neilson was cautioned after the match by referee Gavin Duncan for asking for an explanation as to why it was given. Peter Grant had some strong words after the game for Hearts.

Key stat: The last meeting was Alloa’s first ever win over Hearts. They had been winning a Scottish Cup tie in 1980 but it was abandoned after 50 minutes due to fog.

Referee: Alan Muir – It will be the official’s first game in charge of Hearts this campaign. He was the man in the middle for the club's last Premiership match, a 1-0 defeat to St Mirren.

Odds: Alloa 10/1 Draw 19/4 Hearts 1 / 4