Fourth take on fifth north and south of the border

St Johnstone can maintain their grasp on the coat tails of the SPL’s leading three when they go to Hearts this afternoon.

Paulo Sergio and Steve Lomas, two of three SPL bosses who have arrived to make their managerial debuts in Scotland since the current campaign got underway in the summer, will both be serving touchline bans at Tynecastle. Lomas, the Saints successor to Derek McInnes (now at Bristol City) is unbeaten in his first two games, which has included a goalless draw at Rangers a couple of weeks ago. The side from Perth have so far been unaffected by McInnes’ departure to the English Championship, losing only one of their last five outings.

As for Hearts, a 2-1 win at home against bottom of the table Inverness last weekend ended their recent slump in form after four games without scoring a single goal. The Edinburgh club’s home form before that run had been excellent, beating Hibernian, St Mirren and Celtic all by 2-0 scorelines.

But given how only league leaders Rangers have conceded fewer than St Johnstone on the road so far, I’m predicting a low scoring draw, or possibly even a seventh defeat of the campaign for Hearts following Francisco Sandaza’s return to goalscoring form.