Hearts vs Rigas Futbola Skola Match Analysis and Prediction

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Hearts and Rigas Futbola Skola go head to head at Tynacastle on Thursday, with the two sides having a mountain to climb in their Europa Conference League group.

Both teams need a favour from Istanbul Basaksehir of beating Fiorentina in the other game of the group to prevent this tie from becoming a dead rubber.

Hearts’ only points in the group so far came in the reverse fixture in Riga on matchday two, as their two home matches have produced some very disappointing performances, losing both without scoring and conceding seven.

Following their 3-0 and 5-1 defeats to Fiorentina and an inferior head-to-head record against the Italian side, Hearts must with both of their last two games to have any chances of progressing through the group.

The Scottish side are winless in six matches across all competitions, losing five, but that should realistically change on Thursday against the Latvian underdogs who will arrive with a very defensive mentality.

However, Rigas FS have proved they are no pushovers at times in their maiden European campaign, but they face the same fate as Hearts, as two victories are needed for them to have any chance of progression.

That appears to be a near impossible task for Rigas FS on paper, considering they lost the reverse fixture on home ground, but they have already surprised Fiorentina and Basaksehir in the group so far, so anything is possible.

Rigas FS ended a five-game winless run by defeating Super Nova 4-0 on Sunday to strengthen their grip on a Europa Conference League spot for next season, sitting five points clear of fourth place with three matches to go.

Despite that, it is unlikely they will make it this far again next season given the stature of the club, so they will cherish their final away game of the group stage.

Hearts vs Rigas Futbola Skola head to head

These two teams have previously met on just one occasion in the Europa Conference League on September 15, where Hearts claimed a 2-0 away victory.

Rigas FS 0-2 Hearts 15/09/22

Hearts latest home form

Hearts have recently been on a poor run of form at home, as they have lost each of their five most recent matches. They were beaten 4-3 by Celtic in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored just three goals and conceded 16.

Hearts 0-1 Kilmarnock 31/08/22

Hearts 0-4 Istanbul Basaksehir 08/09/22

Hearts 0-4 Rangers 01/10/22

Hearts 0-3 Fiorentina 06/10/22

Hearts 3-4 Celtic 22/10/22

Hearts latest away form

Hearts have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their 10 most recent matches. They lost 2-0 to Aberdeen in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded nine.

Rigas FS 0-2 Hearts 15/09/22

Motherwell 0-3 Hearts 18/09/22

Kilmarnock 2-2 Hearts 09/10/22

Fiorentina 5-1 Hearts 13/10/22

Aberdeen 2-0 Hearts 16/10/22

Rigas Futbola Skola latest home form

Rigas FS have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their nine most recent matches. They drew 2-2 with Tukums in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded four.

Rigas FS 3-0 Spartaks Jurmala 12/09/22

Rigas FS 0-2 Hearts 15/09/22

Rigas FS 6-0 Metta 01/10/22

Rigas FS 0-0 Istanbul Basaksehir 06/10/22

Rigas FS 2-2 Tukums 16/10/22

Rigas Futbola Skola latest away form

Rigas FS have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They defeated Super Nova 4-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded six.

BFC Daugavpils 1-3 Rigas FS 27/09/22

Auda 1-1 Rigas FS 09/10/22

Istanbul Basaksehir 3-0 Rigas FS 13/10/22

Auda 1-0 Rigas FS 19/10/22

Super Nova 0-4 Rigas FS 23/10/22

Hearts news

Robert Snodgrass is not registered in Hearts’ squad for the Europa Conference League following his late transfer from Luton Town in September, so he is ineligible to play here.

Lewis Neilson is back from suspension after he was sent off at home to Fiorentina on matchday three, and will feature from the outset.

Rigas Futbola Skola news

Rigas FS captain Tomas Simkovic is available for selection again after he was sent off against Basaksehir on matchday three, which could see Kevin Fiesenbichler drop to the bench.

Right-back Jovan Vlalukin started on the bench at the weekend but as a regular in Europe, he is expected to replace Vladislavs Sorokins on Thursday.

Prediction and Odds

Rigas FS will almost certainly sit back at Tynecastle and hope for opportunities on the counter-attack, but that did not work as well in Istanbul as it did in Florence.

Hearts showed a lot of fight and quality in scoring three times at home to Celtic at the weekend, so they should defeat RFS.

Odds: 1 1.89 X 2.05 2 3.02