Both Hibernian and Hearts go into Sunday’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road under pressure. Neither side are in good form, and both are at the wrong end of the league table.
Paul Heckingbottom and Craig Levein are both badly in need of a win which would perhaps kickstart their season.
Interestingly, there is one aspect where Hearts are doing better than Hibs in the league – goalscoring. Hearts have scored seven goals in the league this season compared to four for Hibs.
For Hibs to get the win at Easter Road, they will need a big performance from their attacking players. That includes top scorer Florian Kamberi.
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Top scorer this season
Kamberi is Hibs’ top scorer this season with five goals, but only one of those goals have come in the league – the other four have been scored in the Betfred Cup.
Kamberi has scored for the Easter Road side against their rivals in the past – he got Hibs’ goal in a 2-1 loss at Tynecastle in May 2018.
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Another goal in the upcoming fixture could make a difference to both Hibs’ season and their manager’s future. Scoring goals really is a problem for the Easter Road side.
Lack of goals has to be a worry
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The fact that they haven’t scored in their last two league games has to be a worry for Paul Heckingbottom. The lack of goals has led to the poor start to the season, which has left Hibs only a point above bottom of the table Hearts.
That is why it is important that Kamberi and Hibs’ other attacking players have a good game against Hearts. A win for Hibs – and they should be favourites, they are at home against the league’s bottom team – would make a difference to the club’s prospects of climbing the table.
However, if Hibs don’t perform on the day and lose, the pressure will grow on the players and management.