- Hearts have been solid at home with 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in all competitions, conceding only 4 goals in 4 games.
- Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been tough travellers with 3 wins and 2 draws from 5 away games, conceding only 1 goal on the road.
- Ryan Duncan has been a star for the visitors, providing a cutting edge with 2 goals in his last 5 appearances.
An intriguing tactical clash
Hearts are the heavy 1/4 favourites for Sunday's Scottish League Cup 2026 clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who are 29/4 and the draw is 22/5 at Tynecastle Park.
Wouter Vrancken's team have adopted a compact shape that keeps the block together and allows them to punish teams on transitions and from set-pieces. Caley Jags boss Scott Kellacher has them playing at a higher tempo, with plenty of width and overloads, aggressive pressing and plenty of direct service into the box.
There's the potential for a real tactical scrap here with Hearts set to suffocate space and slow the game, and Inverness set to push the wings and press hard to force mistakes.
Inverness are a very solid unit
Inverness have drawn 0-0 in their last two matches, but they are still on a very good run with 7 wins and 3 draws from their last 10 matches in all competitions and are undefeated. Hearts have 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 defeats in their last 10 in all competitions so they are not the obvious choice here at such a short price.
A lot of their results are extreme, with their three most recent being a 6-1 away defeat to SL Benfica, a 4-0 home win over Dundee United and a 1-1 home draw with SL Benfica. So they do seem to be boom or bust at the moment.
Swerve the host's odds and take the visitors
The hosts should have enough class to see this one out, but with Inverness on such an unbeaten run, there could be long spells where this stays a cagey cup affair. We'll swerve Hearts at 1/4 and take Inverness at 29/4.
The Under 2.5 goals market at 6/5 looks sharp here, especially if this turns into a long, tense afternoon.
