Scottish Championship: Hibernian v Alloa team news

Hibernian will be looking to close the gap at the top as they host Alloa Athletic at Easter Road this weekend.

Hibs lost 1-0 at Falkirk last weekend - their first defeat in nine league games - to sit 19 points behind leaders Hearts, and manager Alan Stubbs is looking for a response against the Wasps.

“The reaction from the squad has been really good," he told the club's website. “I wanted to see disappointment on the players’ faces after Saturday because it shows that they care. I think it’s important to see at times.

“But on Monday morning we spoke about the game and then we moved on. I don’t want them to dwell on it and I don’t want there to be a hangover. Yes, we know that we dropped below the standards that we’d set ourselves in previous weeks and months."

Alloa's in-form striker Liam Buchanan - the leading Championship scorer with 10 goals - has been ruled out of the trip to Easter Road with concussion.

Jonathan Tiffoney, David Weatherston and Iain Flannigan also miss out but manager Barry Smith, who has been linked with the vacancy at St Mirren, is confident of a bold showing in Edinburgh.

Smith told the Alloa Advertiser: “The players we are still missing definitely makes it very tricky but we also know we can compete against them. 

"We have proven that in our two games against them already. We won one of them and competed well in the other so we need to show the same appetite and desire to win this time around."