By Ethan Barlow

Former Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes brings his table topping Hearts side to his old stomping ground against a very much on-form Stuart Kettlewell Killie side.

The Ayrshire side have picked up impressive wins in back-to-back fixtures against current and recently former top six clubs, Dundee United and St Mirren. The Tannadice triumph and the League Cup revenge leaves the former Ross County and Motherwell manager’s team in third, directly above the two sides aforementioned.

On the other side, the Jambos have strung together four Premiership wins on the trot, going one better than their opposite number’s two clean sheets on the bounce. Coming off the high of their first Edinburgh derby win in over 18 months, Hearts will look to open up another five point lead at the top before Celtic play their weekend’s match at Dens Park, on Sunday.

Both sides have the right to be confident heading into Saturday evening’s blockbuster, with the Jam Tarts undefeated in the league and the Rugby Park side only undone by a late controversial penalty winner against the champions. Perth to Paisley founder and co-host, Adam Kennedy and Former Killie TV and now BBC 5 Live commentator Gavin Wallace are equally ambitious about each sides chances.

Kennedy touched on the importance of the trip to Rugby Park and the fixtures immediately following: “I don’t see any reason why Hearts can’t go down to Rugby Park and win. I think the Celtic game speaks for itself. And St Mirren’s kind of been the only disappointment so far, with the League Cup exit in Paisley.”

Wallace believes the home side should be equally confident about taking three points and maintaining their early season fight for a podium place: “I think Kilmarnock fans should be confident in general because their start to the season has been pretty strong. You look at their performances – they’ve all been pretty strong.”

The Premiership pick of the weekend comes with the added edge of McInnes and Stuart Findlay’s return to Killie, after plying their trade there last season. The defender has found unlikely scoring form thus far this season while his superior possibly has the best chance to mount an non Old Firm title charge anyone has seen in decades.

One of Findlay’s most memorable Killie goals came in the reverse of this fixture, in 2019. Here is the moment, with Gavin Wallace running you through it on commentary.

Kennedy counts Hearts lucky to have the services of the manager the home team once called theirs: “Ultimately, if there’s somebody we want to guide us through this game it is Derek McInnes, given that was his last club.”

Despite the former Aberdeen boss switching Ayrshire for Edinburgh, Wallace revealed an interesting stat which offers the debate if Kilmarnock are in a better position with Kettlewell at the helm: “If Kilmarnock beat Hearts this weekend, Stuart Kettlewell will have got three wins on the bounce quicker than what Derek McInnes did. It took McInnes until the second half of his last season.”

This match will reveal a lot in where each side stands in their aspirations for the season and is built up to be an epic encounter for more reason than one.

Listen to more of what Adam Kennedy and Gavin Wallace had to say ahead of the match, here: