After an impressive fourth-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last season, following a remarkable climb from 10th the previous year, Kilmarnock have struggled to replicate that success and have endured a disappointing
start to this campaign.Derek McInnes, in charge since January 2022, has guided the side to just four wins from their opening 23 matches across all competitions, losing 11 and drawing eight in that time.Those results have seen Killie
crash out of the qualifiers for both the Europa League and Conference League, while they place 10th in the league table with 14 points, just two points above bottom-of-the-table
Hibernian.Killie initially went winless in their first six league games, with three losses and three draws, before briefly seeming to turn their form around by winning three of the next four, only to falter again with four defeats and two draws in their last six matches.
With Kilmarnock now coming up against relegation-rivals Hearts, McInnes will be desperate for his side to end their winless run and secure three points that could be crucial to
their survival hopes.Hearts, meanwhile, enter this clash revitalised under new boss Neil Critchley, who took over as permanent manager following the dismissal of Steven Naismith, with Liam Fox serving as interim boss during
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the transition.Critchley took over in mid-October with the Jambos having recorded just one win from their first 12 matches, alongside two draws and nine defeats, including a disappointing elimination from the Europa
League playoff round at the hands of Viktoria Plzen.The manager had an immediate impact on Hearts as they beat St Mirren 4-0 in his first game, and Critchley now heads into this one with a record of four wins, two draws and six
losses from 12 matches.Hearts are now aiming to rise out of the drop zone for the first time since the beginning of the campaign, with a victory potentially lifting them as high as eighth depending on results elsewhere.
