After a blistering start to the Premiership campaign, Hearts topped the league table back in October 10 games into the season. Eight wins, one draw and a solitary defeat had left some wondering whether or not Craig Levein’s side would be surprise contenders to end Celtic’s dominance at the top of Scottish football. A raft of new signings had been made and integrated seamlessly into the starting lineup, and things looked positively rosy for the Tynecastle club.

But then, disaster struck. Steven Naismith went off injured against Celtic in the League Cup semi-final, adding to an injury list that already included Uche Ikpeazu and centre back pairing John Souttar and Christophe Berra. With Levein’s squad down to their bare bones the Edinburgh club struggled for form from then on, particularly in attack, and had real difficulties in picking up wins both home and away.

But with Souttar and Berra now back in the heart of the first team defence, and Naismith picking up where he left off, Levein now has nearly an entire roster of players to choose from and the turnaround in the club’s fortunes has been remarkable.

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The Herald:

In their last eight fixtures in all competitions, Hearts have accrued six wins and have just one defeat to their name and look to be recapturing their early season form. A trip to Fir Park to face a Motherwell side that have chalked up five wins on the bounce will take place tomorrow afternoon, and the result could go on to define Hearts’ season.

While any bid for the league title appears to be dead in the water, given the slump in form that accompanied Hearts’ injury crisis earlier in the season, European qualification is still on the cards for Levein and his team. A win tomorrow, if other results go their way, could see Hearts move level on points with Aberdeen and Kilmarnock and would provide the impetus to really push on for the remainder of the campaign.

A full-strength Hearts side provides fearsome opposition for any Premiership team and Levein’s side are perfectly capable of beating anyone in Scotland on their day. While the Edinburgh club have been slowly building momentum in recent weeks, a defeat at the hands of Motherwell could knock the stuffing out of them, as well as giving Stephen Robinson’s team confidence that a top-six spot is not beyond the realms of possibility.

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Motherwell have been on a fantastic run of late and players like Jake Hastie, David Turnbull and Allan Campbell have been handsomely repaying the faith shown in them by Robinson. Just a few weeks ago, the Steelmen looked certain to finish in ninth place; too good to go down, but not good enough to push for the top six. But this run of wins has changed all that and the Fir Park faithful can now harbour serious ambitions of finishing in the top six. Indeed, at the time of writing, they’re only four points behind St Johnstone in sixth.

The Herald:

Robinson will also feel encouraged by the fact that this upturn in form has arrived largely without the help of January signing Ross McCormack, who has yet to feature regularly since rejoining the club. The veteran striker is still getting up to match fitness but one can’t help but feel that the on-loan forward will chip in with a few goals between now and the end of the season and that McCormack will have an important role to play going forward.

It feels like both teams are approaching a crucial juncture in their respective seasons. A win for Hearts would cement their top-four aspirations while a Motherwell victory would only add to the confidence that the Steelmen’s youngsters have been displaying on a regular basis of late. A defeat for either club would feel especially damaging, given the excellent displays both sides have been providing lately, yet a win would provide a huge boost to morale. Both Motherwell and Hearts are at a crossroads and this match could go on to define each club’s season.