Goalkeeper Colin Meldrum is set to make his Livingston debut in Sunday's SPL clash with Hearts after first-choice keeper Roddy McKenzie injured himself on the Almondvale fieldturf and has a suspected hairline fracture of the foot.
Also out is Colin McMenamin, who twisted his ankle in training and may also have suffered a hairline fracture.
Richard Gough admits he is not a fan of Astroturf and will make every effort to find some grass training pitches in the coming weeks. He said: "I have had a couple of weeks training with the team and with the weather we have had problems trying to get parks to play on.
"We were using schools pitches but that has been difficult and there are not even any junior pitches in this area.
"And we have had to use the artificial turf this week because the grass pitches have been flooded.
"But we have had two injuries in two weeks on the plastic. It is easy to walk over there to the Astroturf pitches but it is still not ideal.
"So the priority this season is to get somewhere in the area where we can train and we will try and explore that more."
The good news for the manager is that David McNamee returns from an ankle problem.
Livingston (from): Meldrum, Stanic, Dorado, Rubio, Dair, Adam, McPake, Lovell, Brittain, Easton, Snowdon, O'Brien, Lilley, Hamilton, Harding, Libbra, Snodgrass, McNamee, Fleming.
History of the Livingston v Heart Of Midlothian fixture
Livingston prepare to entertain Heart Of Midlothian at Almondvale Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and hold the advantage on previous meetings between the two. Of the 5 games played, Livi have recorded 2 wins, and Hearts have come away with 1 victories.
The most recent encounter between these two sides at Almondvale Stadium was less than a year ago, in February 2004, with Hearts inflicting a narrow 2-3 defeat upon the Livi in a Scottish Premier match.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2004/2005 | Sun 03 Oct | Hearts | 0 - 0 | Livingston | SPL |
| 2003/2004 | Sat 17 Apr | Hearts | 1 - 1 | Livingston | SPL |
| 2003/2004 | Tue 24 Feb | Livingston | 2-3 | Hearts | SPL |
| 2003/2004 | Sat 01 Nov | Hearts | 3 - 1 | Livingston | SPL |
| 2002/2003 | Sat 08 Mar | Livingston | 1 - 1 | Hearts | SPL |
| 2002/2003 | Sat 07 Dec | Hearts | 2 - 1 | Livingston | SPL |
| 2002/2003 | Sun 06 Oct | Livingston | 1 - 1 | Hearts | SPL |
Recent respective form guides
Livingston's home form is poor, winning just 2 of the last six, and losing the other 4. While Livi have scored 6, a worringly large 15 have been leaked at the other end.
The away form of Hearts however, is much more impressive, with 3 victories and just 1 loss from the last six. The games have constituted a decent return of 10 goals for the Jambo's, and 4 goals against.
Livingston are hovering perilously just above the relegation zone, with 15 points from 18 matches. Hearts's 27 points from 18 games sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in 6th position.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Livingston | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 6 |
| Hearts | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
www.liviultras.com prediction...
A tough match for Livi, but one that they can get a point from, and the way we are playing, we'd take a draw now.
1-1
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Livingston | 10 games since last home draw. Not drawn a match in their last 11 . |
| Hearts | Not won in previous 2 away matches. No win in the 2 most recent games. |