• Hearts are second bottom of the Scottish Premiership, while Cercle Bruges currently sit 14th of 16 teams in the Belgian First Division.
• Hearts have won three and lost three of their matches against Belgian opponents, the latest being against Standard Liege in the Uefa Cup second round in 1992, losing both legs 1-0.
• Hearts have lost twice and won once in Belgium, their only victory being 3-1 against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Fairs Cup first round in 1961 as they won 5-1 on aggregate.

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Saints face Djurgaden in Shrewsbury after a 2-1 defeat in their last game away to Shamrock Rovers, having taken the lead at the Tallaght Stadium.

The Cymru Premier champions lost 2-0 away to Italian giants Fiorentina in their opening game before a 2-0 home win over Astana of Kazakhstan.

“We knew it was going to be really tough - we probably got one of the worst draws possible,” manager Craig Harrison said.

“So we’re really pleased with the way the lads have performed. We’ve had three really good performances."

On the domestic front, Saints currently find themselves in the unfamiliar position of second spot in the Cymru Premier, although last Saturday’s 3-2 win over leaders Penybont saw them close the gap to one point.

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Chelsea centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo says it "is an honour" to be one of Enzo Maresca's leaders in what is overall a young Blues squad.

At 27 and boasting six seasons of senior football, Adarabioyo is one of the more experienced players in the Italian's squad.

"I wouldn't say I have been tasked," he said, "but it is an amazing responsibility to have to come into the club and help lead the boys.

"It is something I have always done, no matter what club I have been at nor my age. My leadership qualities are definitely one of my strengths.

"To come here and do the same with a younger group is an honour."

However, despite taking on such an active role at Stamford Bridge, Adarabioyo has only made four Premier League appearances since signing from Fulham in the summer.

"Everyone enjoys playing the games that you manage to get into," he said. "I go out there to enjoy it and also perform to my best to get the best result for the club.

"I have full belief in my ability and I am sure everyone else in the squad does too."

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Head coach Neil Critchley hopes Hearts can give their large travelling support "a great memory" from Thursday's Conference League meeting with Cercle Brugge.

Around 4,000 fans are making the trip from Edinburgh to Belgium.

"It's quite overwhelming really," Critchley said of the backing. "We bumped into quite a few at the airport on the way.

"Sometimes you wish you were with them, because that's what it's all about. Following your team and having a great time. Hopefully, we can produce a great memory for them."

Hearts have six points from their three Conference League outings, two more than Cercle.

But Critchley's side have lost four of their past five matches in all competitions, with Saturday's 4-1 home defeat to Celtic following a 1-0 reverse at Ibrox in the Premiership.

The New Saints XI: Roberts; Baker, Pask, McGahey, Davies; Redmond, Williams, Clark; Daniels, McManus, J. Williams.

Subs: Edwards, Olosunde, Bodenham, Brobbel, A.Cieslewicz, Hudson, Holden, Bradley, Smith, Canavan, Wilson, Woollam.

Djurgarden XI: Rinne; Stahl, Une Larsson, Danielson, Kosugi; Stensson, Sabovic; Wikheim, Gulliksen, Nguen; Hummet.

Subs: Croon, Jansson, Tenho, Schuller, Eriksson, Radetinac, Fallenius, Therkildsen, Bergh, Aslund, Priske, Haarala.

Chelsea

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Enzo Maresca has so far relied on his fringe players to do the business in the Europa Conference League this season - and that is very much the case tonight in Germany.

Tonight's starting XI have managed just 11 Premier League starts between them.

Four of tonight's starters - goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, midfielders Cesare Casadei and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and 18 year old Spanish forward Marc Guiu - have not started in the Premier League this season.

Image source, @ChelseaFC

Three changes for Chelsea from the side that started last time out in Europe - the 8-0 hammering of Armenia's Noah at Stamford Bridge on 7 November.

Jadon Sancho makes his first start since 20 October - and his first in Europe since joining on loan from Manchester United.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei also start as Enzo Fernandez, Tyrique George and Joao Felix drop out.

Chelsea XI: Jorgensen, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Veiga, Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho, Nkunku, Mudryk, Guiu.

Subs: Sanchez, Bergstrom, Colwill, Madueke, Felix, Chukwuemeka, George, Dyer, Rak-Sakyi, Mheuka.

Heidenheim XI: Muller, Traore, Mainka, Siersleben, Theuerkauf, Dorsch, Maloney, Scienza, Wanner, Honsak, Kaufmann.

Subs: Eicher, Feller, Busch, Schoppner, Gimber, Breunig, Fohrenbach, Kerber, Beck, Negele, Conteh, Janes.

Let's get some team news for our early fixtures...

These Thursday night's can get very hectic with loads of games across the Europa League and Europa Conference League. Here's where our main bases will be tonight:

Europa League

• Manchester United v Bodo/Glimt (20:00 GMT)
• Nice v Rangers (20:00 GMT)
• Tottenham v Roma (20:00 GMT)

Conference League

• Cercle Brugge v Hearts (17:45 GMT)
• Heidenheim v Chelsea (17:45 GMT)
• The New Saints v Djugarden (17:45 GMT)

A grand total of 35 matches are taking place across Europe this evening in the Europa and Europa Conference Leagues.

Plenty of storylines to get our teeth into. Can Chelsea make it four wins from four in the Conference League? Will Ruben Amorim get his first win on the board as Manchester United boss? Will there be more Welsh history for The New Saints? Can Hearts bounce back from a thumping by Celtic?

Let's find out...