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Hearts welcome Rapid Vienna to Tynecastle Park on Thursday night for the first leg of their Conference League playoff tie, with both sides bidding to move one step closer to securing league-phase football.
Wouter Vrancken's side began the campaign with Europa League ambitions but were beaten heavily by Benfica and have subsequently dropped into the Conference League, while Rapid Vienna have navigated their way through the competition since the second qualifying round.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Hearts vs Rapid Vienna key stats
- Hearts scored five second-half goals in their recent League Cup win over Inverness CT, including four within a 14-minute spell.
- The Jambos finished 25th out of 36 in the league phase of the Conference League in 2024-25, winning two of their six matches.
- Rapid Vienna are unbeaten in their last 15 matches in all competitions and head into Thursday's clash on an 11-game winning streak.
- Johannes Hoff Thorup's side have scored 29 goals across their opening eight matches of the 2026-27 season, averaging 3.63 goals per game.
Hearts vs Rapid Vienna preview: Can the Jambos gain the upper hand in the first leg?
Hearts vs. Rapid Vienna — Tale of the Tape
| Hearts (Scottish Premiership) | vs | Rapid Vienna (Austrian Bundesliga) |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | Position | 1st |
| 3 | Points | 9 |
| 5 | Goals For | 11 |
| 2 | Goals Against | 1 |
| 1 | Clean Sheets | 2 |
| 1st / 8th | Home / Away Rank | 1st / 4th |
Following a heartbreaking end to last season, when Hearts lost out on the Scottish Premiership title on the final day at Celtic Park, the club turned to Wouter Vrancken to steady the ship.
The Belgian coach arrived in the summer following Derek McInnes's departure for Rangers, with key players Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland also leaving the club.
Despite bringing in a number of new arrivals, the Jambos endured a difficult start to the new campaign, losing their opening four matches and suffering Champions League qualifying elimination against Sturm Graz before losing to Aberdeen on the opening day of their league campaign.
That difficult run continued with a heavy 6-1 defeat to Benfica in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie, but Hearts responded impressively to avoid any lingering European hangover.
Vrancken's men secured their first league win of the season in style with a 4-0 victory over Dundee United before holding Benfica to a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle Park and then thrashing Inverness 6-2 in the League Cup.
That recent resurgence will give Hearts renewed confidence ahead of Thursday's clash as they look to secure league-phase football for the second time in three seasons.
As for Rapid Vienna, they arrive in Scotland in outstanding form after winning all eight of their matches so far this season.
Four of those victories have come in Conference League qualifying, with Johannes Hoff Thorup's side beating Santa Coloma 9-3 on aggregate before recording 4-1 and 2-0 victories over Paide.
The Austrian outfit have also made an impressive start domestically, with goals proving central to their success after they made it three league wins from three by thrashing GAK 8-0 at the weekend.
That victory marked the third time this season that Rapid Vienna have scored at least four goals, underlining the attacking threat Hearts will have to contend with.
The Green-Whites also have recent success in this competition to draw upon, having reached the quarter-finals two seasons ago before being eliminated by Djurgardens IF.
Hearts vs Rapid Vienna form guide & betting tips
| Hearts | vs | Rapid Vienna |
|---|---|---|
LLWDW |
Form | WWWWW |
| 13 | Goals For | 19 |
| 11 | Goals Against | 6 |
N/A |
Conference League qualifying | WWWW |
Whispers predicts: Hearts 2-2 Rapid Vienna
Both sides have been in prolific scoring form in recent weeks, with Hearts and Rapid Vienna combining for 49 goals across their last five matches, so we expect another entertaining encounter on Thursday.
With that in mind, we are backing Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score, which are priced at 8/11 and 8/13 respectively.
Although Rapid Vienna are yet to taste defeat this season, Hearts' recent improvement makes us confident that the hosts can extend their unbeaten run to four matches and head to Austria with the tie finely balanced, our 2-2 score prediction is priced at 12/1.
> Over 2.5 goals at 8/11 | Likelihood: Probable
> Both Teams to Score – Yes at 8/13 | Likelihood: Probable
> Correct score prediction: 2-2 at 12/1 | Likelihood: Longshot