Viktoria Plzen will travel to Edinburgh on Thursday, 29 August for the second leg of their Europa League playoff with Hearts.
The Czech side come into the match with a 1-0 advantage thanks to a 96th minute winner in the first leg and will now be looking to secure their place in the new league stage of the Europa League.
Hearts have it all to do to turn the tie around and after yet another defeat at the weekend, failure to complete the comeback could cost Steven Naismith his job.
As part of our latest round of Europa League betting tips, here is our Hearts vs Viktoria Plzen prediction.
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Hearts vs Viktoria Plzen prediction: The visitors to down the Scots
Key stats
- Viktoria Plzen have won their last five matches in all competitions.
- Hearts haven't won any of the five competitive matches they've played this season.
- Hearts have only scored two goal in all competitions this season.
Correct score prediction: Hearts 0-2 Viktoria Plzen
Despite being the away side, Viktoria Plzen shouldn't find the task at hand on Thursday night overly difficult given the form of the two sides. To compound matters for the hosts, they tasted defeat yet again at the weekend against Motherwell while Viktoria Plzen had the luxury of the weekend off to prepare for the second leg. That extra freshness could prove to be the tipping point on Thursday.
Pre-game odds and win probability: The hosts are considered outsiders
- Home: 5/2 (3.50) – 28.6%
- Draw: 5/2 (3.50) – 28.6%
- Away: 1/1 (2.00) – 50%
The Hearts vs Viktoria Plzen odds suggest that all is not lost for Steven Naismith and his side on Thursday night. Although they go in as outsiders, Viktoria Plzen don't exactly have the full backing of the bookies and have been priced at 1/1 with Ladbrokes to win on the night. A win for hearts has been priced at 5/2, which is the same price as a draw.
More football predictions can be found via our free betting tips for today page.
Most recent H2Hs: A second meeting
This will be the second time that the two clubs have met in Europe, with the first meeting coming in the first leg last week.
Neither of these teams are exactly regulars in European football so it's not a huge shock that they hadn't played each other prior to last week.
Viktoria Plzen's best performance in a UEFA competition came last season when they reached the quarter-finals for the Europa Conference League while Hearts' best performance was in 1989 when they reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.
Viktoria Plzen preview: Building on last season
Viktoria Plzen finished third in the Czech Fortuna Liga last season and enjoyed a deep run in the Europa Conference League. They are keen to build on that this season and have started their domestic season brilliantly with four wins from five games. Can they now take that form into league stage of the Europa League?
Predicted lineup: Tvrdon (GK), Dweh, Hranac, Jemelka, Havel, Sulc, Cerv, Kalvach, Kopic, Vasulin & Jirka
Czech Republic First League 01/09/24
D
Slovan Liberec
1
Viktoria Plzen
1
UEFA Europa League Qualifying 29/08/24
W
Hearts
0
Viktoria Plzen
1
UEFA Europa League Qualifying 22/08/24
W
Hearts
0
Viktoria Plzen
1
Czech Republic First League 18/08/24
W
Ceske Budejovice
0
Viktoria Plzen
3
UEFA Europa League Qualifying 15/08/24
W
FC Kryvbas Kriviy Rih
0
Viktoria Plzen
1
Hearts preview: One last chance for Naismith?
After a desperate start to the season, Steven Naismith perhaps needs a win here to save his job at Tynecastle. Hearts are yet to win a game this season but fellow Scottish sides have enjoyed incredible performances out of nowhere on big European nights in the past, so why can't Hearts enjoy one too on Thursday?
Predicted lineup: Gordon (GK), Dosman, Kent, Kingsley, Rowles, Penrice, Vargas, Devlin, Boateng, Grant & Shankland
Scotland Premiership 01/09/24
L
Dundee Utd
1
Hearts
0
UEFA Europa League Qualifying 29/08/24
L
Viktoria Plzen
1
Hearts
0
Scotland Premiership 25/08/24
L
Motherwell
3
Hearts
1
UEFA Europa League Qualifying 22/08/24
L
Viktoria Plzen
1
Hearts
0
Scotland League Cup 17/08/24
L
Falkirk
2
Hearts
0
Player to watch: Lawrence Shankland
Lawrence Shankland is our player to watch for more than one reason. First and foremost, he is listed as an injury doubt for the match so it will be interesting to see if he can even start the match or if he will have to come off the bench. The idea of him not being involved at all is a catastrophic one for Hearts.
Secondly, Shankland is arguably the only player in the Hearts squad to have the necessary X Factor to produce something on a night like this. The 29-year-old produced countless moments of magic last season on his way to becoming the top scorer in Scotland and it wouldn't surprise anyone to see him pop up with something again on Thursday.
