Rangers travel to Easter Road on Sunday carrying momentum and belief, while their hosts are searching urgently for answers.
Danny Rohl’s side have won six league games in a row, building rhythm and consistency at a crucial stage of the campaign.
In contrast, Hibernian’s recent form has dipped sharply. A draw with Motherwell was followed by a league defeat to Falkirk, with a shock 1–0 Scottish Cup exit to lower-league Dunfermline sandwiched in between.
The mood in Leith is one of frustration, and manager David Gray has not shied away from addressing it.
Speaking after the latest setback at the Falkirk Stadium, Gray delivered a blunt assessment of his side’s standards and mentality, making it clear that a response is non-negotiable, even with Rangers next up.
“It’s my responsibility to do that,” Gray said when asked how he lifts his players.
“I’ve just had a real honest conversation in the dressing room there about the standards and the expectation of this football club.
“I’ve been here long enough to know exactly what that is.”
The Hibs boss was particularly unhappy with the nature of the performance rather than just the result.
“The manner of the defeat today is the thing that is unacceptable from my point of view,” he added.
“I’ve just said that to the players and I think they’ll take that on board, I’m sure they will because they should, because it should hurt.”
Gray even went as far as to question his team’s application - a vunerable message ahead of facing one of the division’s most in-form sides.
“If someone’s questioning your attitude towards the game, that’s something that’s inexcusable from my point of view,” he said.
Despite the poor run, Gray is looking to the fixture list as an opportunity rather than a burden, even with Rangers arriving in strong form.
“Football has a way of giving you an opportunity to try and put that right and that starts straight away on the training pitch and then the games coming up,” he explained.
“It doesn’t matter who the next opponent is, it’s a tough one with Rangers, it doesn’t matter, it’s about making sure you get that reaction.”
He admitted he had already sought a response after the cup defeat and did not get it.
“I wanted the reaction after the cup, I didn’t get it today,” Gray said.
“So that’s not everybody looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Am I doing enough right now?’ And on the basis of today, they certainly didn’t.”
Hibs will face Rohl's Rangers without Kieron Bowie, who looks set to join Italian Seria A side Verona, despite previous links to Ibrox.
For Rangers, the challenge will be maintaining focus and intensity against a wounded opponent desperate to prove a point – and sticking the knife deeper into an already open wound as they march on in their “hunt” on Hibs’ Edinburgh ticals Hearts at the top of the table.