Hibs have completely turned around their form following a dreadful start to the season and are currently on a 12-match undefeated run. Their only defeat since the middle of November was a trip to Celtic.

The home form of David Gray’s side has been particularly strong. Their last loss at Easter Road was prior to the November international break while they are coming into this game off the back of a 2-1 victory over champions-elect Celtic at this venue last Saturday.

The Hibees have been the better team in the 2 previous Edinburgh derbies this season. They drew 1-1 at home against Hearts and then won 2-1 at Tynecastle, despite seeing less of the ball in both of those fixtures.

While Hearts come into this match having beaten both St Johnstone and St Mirren in the space of the last 7 days, neither of those performances was particularly fluid and they will face a tougher standard of opponent here.

Both of these teams come into the match in good goalscoring form, which suggests a repeat of the 3-goal encounter that ensued when these sides met at Tynecastle on Boxing Day.

Hibs’ home matches have been typically high-scoring affairs. Of their last 8 Premiership matches at Easter Road, 6 have produced at least 3 goals.

Gray’s side have been finding the net with ease at home. They have scored at least 2 in 6 of their last 7, while they have kept only 3 clean sheets at Easter Road in league play all season.

Hearts’ recent games have typically been exciting affairs, meanwhile. The Jambos’ last 5 matches have all produced at least 3 goals, with 4 of these games yielding at least 4. They have been in good scoring form themselves lately, netting at least 2 in 4 of their last 5, suggesting they will carry a significant threat.

Penrice stands 2nd among Hearts players this season when it comes to committing fouls, with 33 given away in the Premiership this term.

With 1.36 fouls per 90, he may only stand 5th among Hearts players who have played at least 200 minutes, yet this helps to highlight how frequently he gives away free kicks.

He has committed at least 1 foul in 16 of his last 19 Premiership matches and was notably guilty of giving away 3 fouls when he visited Easter Road in October. He also gave away another foul against Hibs in the previous meeting.

Could find himself head-to-head with Lewis Miller, who has been fouled a club-high 38 times for Hibs this season – a rate of 2.2 per 90. Miller has been Hibs’ preferred option at right wing back in each of the last 2 games. He notably played on the right when Penrice gave away 3 fouls at Easter Road.

Belgian striker Kabangu has made a profound impact on Hearts since arriving from Union SG in the January transfer window, hitting the ground running in the Premiership by scoring 5 times in his last 5 matches.

Kabangu has had at least 1 shot on target in each of his 6 league appearances for Hearts, even when coming off the bench. He has managed multiple shots on target in 3 of his last 4 outings.

Has had 2.44 shots on target per 90, which is a ratio that no other player with meaningful game-time in the Premiership can match this season.

Playing at the forefront of the attack and acting as the main focal point for the team in this regard.

Clearly a player high on confidence who will shoot on sight. Given Hearts are likely to dominate this game in terms of possession – they have had 64% and 67% of the ball in the previous meetings – Kabangu is likely to get his opportunities.

Hibs come into this game as the form team in the Premiership, with wins in 3 of their last 4 matches, including a 2-1 victory over Celtic last weekend that will act as the benchmark performance that manager David Gray will expect his team to attain again in this match.

Playing at Easter Road has not been a problem for Hibs. They have won 5 of their last 6 league outings at the venue, with 3 of these victories coming by 2 goals. The Hibees have been scoring frequently at home, netting at least 2 goals in 6 of their last 7 league games in front of their home support.

Won the last derby match against Hearts 2-1 away from home on Boxing Day. They outplayed the Jambos that day as they fashioned 1.55 xG compared to their rivals’ 0.7. They also had a higher xG in the opening fixture of the season (1.95-1.18).

Hearts have not travelled well this season, losing 7 of their 14 away games. Although they have won each of their last 2 outings, their performances were a little scrappy.

Hearts are likely to dominate this game in a territorial sense, having posted at least 64% possession on each of the 2 occasions these teams have met already this season. This has yielded 6 corners in each of those meetings for the Tynecastle club.

The Jambos are 3rd in the Premiership with 6.43 per game when it comes to winning corners, behind only Celtic (9.07) and Rangers (6.89). Even on the road, they still average 6.0 per match.

They have won at least 5 corners in each of their last 5 league matches, including away fixtures against St Johnstone and Dundee.

Away from home in league play, they have 5 corners or more in 9 of their last 10 fixtures.

Hibs are 1 of the poorest sides in the whole league when it comes to preventing corners in their home league games. Gray’s side give up 6.93 on average, which is the highest tally with the exception of bottom club St Johnstone (7.21).

Penrice is likely to find himself in the thick of the action in this encounter down his left flank. On his last trip to Easter Road, he committed 3 fouls and was the recipient of a yellow card as he had a battle with Lewis Miller that could be rekindled in this clash.

Miller is Hibs’ leading player when it comes to drawing fouls, doing so on 38 occasions at a rate of 2.2 per 90.

Penrice is certainly not a stranger to getting into trouble with referees this season. He has been carded 10 times in the Premiership this season, which is the leading figure in the whole league.

He will be asked to push forward and pose an attacking threat – his 183 crosses is the highest figure in the league this season – and with gaps left behind him, that can mean that he is forced into tactical fouls to break up counter-attacks.

Triantis looks a very big price to have at least 1 shot in this encounter, despite the fact that the Aussie is only ranked 7th among all Hibs players when it comes to shots with 22 in the league. This works out at 0.96 per 90.

Triantis has become an increasingly regular threat for Hibs after arriving from Sunderland late in the summer transfer window. He has had a shot in 8 of his last 10 matches.

Although he has not had a shot in either of his last 2 games, he has never gone 3 in a row for Hibs without having an effort.

He has been getting into advanced areas in recent times, with 3 goals and 4 assists across his last 9 matches, so he is certainly not a player lacking in confidence.

Has had a shot against Hearts in each of the previous 2 derby matches.