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

It is the second meeting between the sides in a space of five days after Robbie Neilson’s men ran out 3-0 winners at Tynecastle Park on Tuesday.

Having emerged from the group stage unscathed, Hearts were one of the seeded sides as they look to make their dent on the cup with fewer league games and a possible point to make against Premiership opposition.

The Gorgie side have already progressed to the Scottish Cup final to be played next month with the Betfred quarter-finals taking place only a few days before.

Hearts team news: Josh Ginnelly is unavailable once again, as is Elliot Frear, who missed Tuesday’s game, due to a hamstring issue. Neilson is hopeful Peter Haring will recover from a knock picked up in the game, while Andy Irving should be available once more after missing the league tie with the Wasps due to a head knock. The astroturf pitch will likely be a bearing on the starting line-up.

Possible XI: Gordon; Smith, Halkett, Berra, Kingsley; Irving, Halliday, Naismith; Walker, White, Wighton.

Match details: 3pm kick-off, Indodrill Stadium, Alloa.

How to watch: The game is available as PPV from Alloa’s website and can be purchased for £12. Income from the stream is split 50-50.

Last meeting: We only have to go back to Tuesday when the Jam Tarts scored three first-half goals in a 3-0 win to jump to second in the Championship. Michael Smith opened the scoring early on before Andy Halliday and Peter Haring added the second and third respectively.

Key stat: Forty years ago, in the third round of the Scottish Cup, Alloa were leading 1-0 at the Recreation Ground when the match got abandoned after 50 minutes due to fog. The rearranged game saw Hearts prevail 1-0 thanks to a Cammy Fraser goal.

Referee: Gavin Duncan – The official will take charge of Hearts for the first time this season. Duncan has only officiated the Tynecastle side once, a dreary 0-0 draw with Ross County in January.

Odds: Alloa 6/1 Draw 4/1 Hearts 4/11