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Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa League clash between Hearts and FC Zurich, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Seeking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg, Scottish outfit Hearts welcome Swiss champions FC Zurich to Tynecastle for the second leg of their Europa League playoff on Thursday night.

The winners of this tie will progress to the Europa League group stage, while the losers will drop down into the Europa Conference League.

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Match preview

Hearts' first match in European competition for seven years ended in defeat away against Zurich last week, and their hopes of advancing to the Europa League group stage for the first time in their history remain in the balance.

The Jam Tarts made the breakthrough courtesy of a Lawrence Shankland penalty in the 22nd minute, but the hosts scored twice in just two minutes through Adrian Guerrero and Blerim Dzemaili before half time, and held on after the break to claim a slender victory.

After the match, Robbie Neilson was keen to point out how far Hearts have come since their relegation to the Championship in 2020, and despite defeat the 42-year-old believes that his side are still in with a "good chance" of progressing past Zurich on aggregate, especially with the second leg to be held in front of a sell-out at Tynecastle.

Since their midweek loss in Switzerland, Hearts suffered a 2-0 defeat away against reigning Scottish Premiership champions Celtic on Saturday, albeit with a much-changed side. The match saw defensive duo Alex Cochrane and Toby Sibbick both sent off for second bookable offenses in the closing stages either side of goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

A much stronger side is set to be named by Neilson on Thursday, although they are to face a Zurich outfit who are beginning to build a positive run of form.

Zurich have made a disappointing start to the defence of their Super League title, as they have failed to win any of their opening five top-flight matches and are subsequently sitting bottom of the table.

However, they have now put together an unbeaten run of four games across all competitions, including back-to-back victories against Hearts and Swiss third-tier side SC Cham within the space of four days.

FCZ followed up their win over the Jam Tarts with a comfortable 4-0 success against Cham in the first round of the Swiss Cup on Sunday, which saw Tosin Aiyegun score a hat-trick.

Franco Foda has seen his side's form at both ends of the pitch improve over the last two weeks, as they have scored 10 goals in their last four matches while conceding only twice and keeping two clean sheets.

Taking a slender one-goal advantage to Edinburgh, Zurich will be confident of booking their place in the Europa League group stage for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

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Team News

Hearts boss Neilson made seven changes to his starting lineup for last weekend's defeat at Celtic, but he is set to name a stronger first XI on Thursday.

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon was not involved due to a minor back spasm but the 39-year-old is expected to start between the sticks ahead of Ross Stewart.

Key defender Craig Halkett was also absent after picking up a hamstring injury in just the sixth minute of the first leg against Zurich. The 27-year-old, who was seen on crutches after the match, is expected to miss out on Thursday.

Neilson will ponder whether to use a 5-3-2 formation as he did in the first leg or switch to a 4-2-3-1 setup, which would allow Liam Boyce to return in the number 10 role behind Shankland in attack.

As for FC Zurich, Lindrit Kamberi and Marc Hornschuh are both available for selection after serving suspensions last week, and the former is expected to slot into the back three ahead of either Karol Mets or Becir Omeragic.

After scoring a hat-trick last weekend, Aiyegun will be hoping to start in attack alongside either Bohdan Viunnyk or former Hearts winger Donis Avdijaj, while Leeds United-linked Wilfried Gnonto is another who will push for a starting role in the final third.

Ole Selnaes and Blerim Dzemaili are set to continue in centre-midfield, with Antonio Marchesano operating just in front as a number 10, while Nikola Boranijasevic and Adrian Guerrero will likely continue as wing-backs.

Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Atkinson, Sibbick, Rowles, Cochrane; Grant, Haring; McKay, Boyce, Forrest; Shankland

FC Zurich possible starting lineup:
Brecher; Kamberi, Kryeziu, Aliti; Boranijasevic, Selnaes, Dzemaili, Guerrero; Marchesano; Aiyegun, Avdijaj

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We say: Hearts 1-1 FC Zurich (FC Zurich to win 3-2 on aggregate)

Hosting a European match for the first time since 2016, Hearts will be confident of turning the tie around at Tynecastle, but they will need to be on top of their game across the pitch if they are to progress past a resurgent Zurich outfit.

However, the Swiss side showed their European experience in the first leg and we can see them frustrating the Jam Tarts to edge through on aggregate.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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