Aberdeen will be hoping they will recover from their UEFA Cup clash on Thursday in time to face Hearts in their SPL encounter this Sunday. Hearts are languishing in the bottom half of the SPL thanks to some indifferent form shown in this season.

However Hearts assistant head coach Stephen Frail was pleased with the 1-1 draw secured by his tem in an Edinburgh derby with Hibernian last time around. Hearts had been on a high after their win over Celtic in the CIS Cup on Wednesday, but were unable to repeat that form against Hibernian.

Christian Nade scored late on for Hearts to save them the blushes in that derby game. Meanwhile 23-year-old striker Mauricio Pinilla looked fine in a reserve outing last Tuesday and is slated for a comeback from a wrist injury, which kept him on the sidelines for most games last month.

Velicka, Driver and Stewart have top scored for Hearts in the SPL this season with 3 goals each. Hearts are placed 8th on the SPL table with 15 points from 12 games.

Aberdeen FC manager Jimmy Calderwood is delighted with the fine form shown by his team. Aberdeen took care of Dundee United 2-0 in their last SPL encounter and will be keen to continue that winning form.

Aberdeen though are hampered with injuries to Darren Mackie and winger Jamie Smith with ankle and hamstring injuries respectively. But Scott Severin, Michael Hart, Chris Clark and Andrew Considine are all back after recovering from injuries and will boost the squad no end.

Aberdeen are fifth on the SPL table with 18 points from 12 games. Miller with four goals is their top scorer in the SPL so far.

Last season this fixture ended in a 1-1 draw; a scenario that both teams will want to avoid. Watch Hearts v Aberdeen Live on free-football.tv