Hearts vs FC Zurich Match Analysis and Prediction

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In a bid to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg, Scottish outfit Hearts host Swiss champions FC Zurich at Tynecastle for the second leg og their Europa League playoff on Thursday.

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

Hearts saw their first game in European competition for seven years end in a defeat against Zurich last week, and their hopes of progressing to the Europa League group stage for the first time in their history remain in the balance.

The Jam Tarts broke the deadlock through 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 interval to secure a narrow victory.

Despite the defeat, Robbie Neilson 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.

Meanwhile, 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 sitting bottom of the table as a result.

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

Zurich followed their first-leg win with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Cham in the first round of the Swiss Cup on Sunday, which saw Tosin Aiyegun score a hat-trick.

Now taking a narrow one-goal advantage to Edinburgh, Franco Foda’s side will be confident of securing their spot in the Europa League group stage.

Hearts vs FC Zurich head to head

The two teams have previously met on just one occasion in the first leg of their Europa League qualifying playoff-round tie, where Zurich claimed a 2-1 home victory.

Zurich 2-1 Hearts 18/08/22

Hearts latest home form

Hearts have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Dundee United 4-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded eight.

Hearts 1-3 Rangers 14/05/22

Hearts 2-2 Crawley Town 16/07/22

Hearts 2-1 Stoke City 23/07/22

Hearts 2-1 Ross County 30/07/22

Hearts 4-1 Dundee United 14/08/22

Hearts latest away form

Hearts have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, as they have been winless in their four most recent matches. They lost 2-0 to Celtic in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded eight.

Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Hearts 13/07/22

Preston North End 2-1 Hearts 20/07/22

Hibernian 07/08/22

Zurich 2-1 Hearts 18/08/22

Celtic 2-0 Hearts 21/08/22

FC Zurich latest home form

FC Zurich have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They defeated Hearts 2-1 in their last home game in the Europa League. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded six.

Zurich 0-0 Luzern 23/07/22

Zurich 2-2 Qarabag 27/07/22

Zurich 0-3 Sion 07/08/22

Zurich 3-0 Linfield 11/08/22

Zurich 2-1 Hearts 18/08/22

FC Zurich latest away form

FC Zurich have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their three most recent matches. They defeated Cham 4-0 in their last away game in the Schweizer Pokal. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded six.

Qarabag 3-2 Zurich 19/07/22

St. Gallen 2-0 Zurich 30/07/22

Linfield 0-2 Zurich 04/08/22

Winterthur 1-1 Zurich 14/08/22

Cham 0-4 Zurich 21/08/22

Hearts news

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 he is expected to start between the sticks ahead of Ross Stewart.

FC Zurich news

FC Zurich’s Marc Hornschuh and Lindrit Kamberi are both available for selection after serving suspensions last week, and the latter should slot into the back three ahead of either Karol Metz or Becir Omeragic.

Ole Selnaes and Blerim Dzemaili should continue in centre-midfield, with Antonio Marchesano operiting just in front as a number 10.

Prediction and Odds

Hosting a European match for the first time since 2016, Hearts will feel confident of turning the tie around at Tynecastle.

However, FC Zurich showed their European experience in the first leg and we can see them frustrating their hosts to edge through on aggregate and progress to the group stage.

Odds: 1 2.30 X 2.05 2 2.10