David Gray is preparing for his third Edinburgh derby as permanent Hibs boss and will be eager to remain unbeaten in the fixture.
Of course, Gray experienced a number of losses against Hearts as a player, but he is yet to be defeated in the occasion as a manager.
The October derby ended in dramatic fashion. Hibs looked certain to take victory at Easter Road by a solitary goal but young Hearts striker James Wilson grabbed an equaliser with four minutes of normal time to play.
But Hibs exacted revenge on Boxing Day as they piled more misery upon their struggling city rivals with a 2-1 win at Tynecastle. Circumstances, however, have changed dramatically since then.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 2 |  RangersRangers | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 24 | 34 | 59 |
| 3 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 36 | 44 | -8 | 41 |
| 4 |  HibernianHibernian | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 42 | 39 | 3 | 40 |
| 5 |  Dundee UtdDundee Utd | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 40 |
| 6 |  Heart Of MidlothianHeart Of Midlothian | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 38 | 2 | 36 |
Hearts and Hibs occupied the two bottom spots in the Premiership at the end of 2024 but now, both of them sit in the top six with an eye on finishing 3rd.
It’s been an incredible turnaround, particularly from Hibs who have yet to lose a single game in 2025 – their last being a defeat to Celtic in December.
What David Gray will stress to his Hibs players before Edinburgh derby
After watching his Hibs side continue that fantastic run as they beat Dundee United 3-1 at Tannadice in midweek, Gray has been previewing the Edinburgh derby on Sunday for Sky Sports.
And he revealed that his message to his players will be to go out there and guarantee come half past 2 how special it feels to win a derby game at Easter Road.
He also stressed that his players must look forward to these occasions, otherwise they shouldn’t be playing the beautiful game.
Gray said on Friday morning before Hibs training: “These two clubs could be in different divisions and the games are always spicy. They’re always the games that everyone looks forward to.
“When I was a player, I always looked forward to the derbies. You’re always looking at that calendar, ‘when are the derby games?’
“We’re in a really good position now, we’re in a good frame of mind and I think everyone’s now looking forward to the game.
“Winning a derby at home would be special. They always are. I was fortunate enough to do it a couple of times as a player and that will be the message to the players.
“They felt it against Celtic at the weekend, when they put in a big, special performance and experienced those scenes at the end of the game and the togetherness with the fans.
“The connection between the players and the fans is really good, really strong, and there’s no better way to try to strengthen that than by trying to beat your local rivals at home.
“Everything it means to the city, the passion between both sets of supporters. If you can’t get up for these games, then I don’t think you deserve to be a football player.
“These are the ones that everyone really looks forward to and that’s what the message will be. We’ll make sure they’re ready tactically – everyone will be geared up for that – but you need to look forward to the game and enjoy them too.”
Mykola Kukharevych wants another goal vs Hearts
Mykola Kukharevych was the last Hibs star to score against Hearts at Easter Road – and he is eager to do so again on Sunday.
The Ukrainian said the feeling was ‘special’ but the ultimate glory was taken away from him as Wilson tapped home Hearts’ equaliser that day on the 86th minute.
This time, Kukharevych wants a victory. He missed the Tynecastle victory at Christmas due to injury but he’s in decent form heading into the weekend having scored in Hibs’ 3-1 victory over Dundee United.
He told the Daily Record about scoring in October against the Jambos: “Yes, it’s good. It’s a special feeling, 100 per cent.
“Especially at home, especially the first goal in the second half. It’s such a good feeling. Hopefully we’ll do it again, but with a win.
“It’s a special feeling, but it’s much better when we win a game. It’s happened in football. This time we got some late goals. It was not so good for us, but now we’re a little bit better in this part of our game.
“We play until the end. If we don’t lose a goal, even if we score our winning goal, it’s good.”