Viktoria Plzen are on the brink of selling defender Robin Hranac to Hoffenheim for £8m and the 24-year-old could exit before Thursday's Europa League play-off second leg against Heart of Midlothian. (Record), external
Image source, SNSHearts need to repeat Viktoria Plzen performance against Motherwell says manager Steven Naismith.
The Edinburgh outfit trail Plzen 1-0 after the first leg away from home but have a trip to Motherwell before the home left of the match.
"We showed we can create good chances," Naismith said.
"I thought overall our defending was good, our structure was good and our energy was good.
"So that was more like the Rangers performance than Falkirk and Dundee.
"We will need that on Sunday and we will need that next Thursday."
Image source, SNSFilip Stuparevic is back in training for Motherwell
Motherwell forward Filip Stuparevic is back in training after a hamstring problem, but Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (thigh), Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson, Shane Blaney (all knee), Harry Paton (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring) and Johnny Koutroumbis (calf) remain out.
Hearts are without midfielders Calem Nieuwenhof (hamstring) and Beni Baningime (knee), who are both set to be sidelined until September.
Image source, SNSAfter winning four successive home league games against Heart of Midlothian from February 2019 to May 2022, Motherwell have since lost two of their last three against Hearts (W1).
Hearts have won both of their last two league games against Motherwell, last winning three in a row in February 2017.
Motherwell have won just one of their last seven home league games (D3 L3), including a goalless draw with Ross County on the opening day of the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership – they last failed to win either of their first two home games of a top-flight campaign in 2020-21 (D1 L1).
Heart of Midlothian have won just a point from their opening two league games this season (D1 L1) and could go winless across their opening three games of a Scottish Premiership campaign for the first time since their relegation season in 2019-20 (D1 L2).
Lawrence Shankland has scored six goals in his last seven Scottish Premiership appearances against Motherwell and against no side has he scored more often in the competition (also 6 v Celtic, Ross County and St. Johnstone).
Image source, SNSViktoria Plzen's weekend clash against Sigma Olomouc has been postponed as they prepare for their trip to Tynecastle next week.
Hearts currently trail 1-0 in the tie after a 96th minute own goal from Daniel Oyegoke gave the Czech side the win at the Doosan Arena.
Plzen will have extra time to prepare for the second leg after the Czech FA agreed to cancel all games involving clubs in European action, while Hearts have a trip to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.
Image source, SNSFrankie Kent says Hearts showed their true colours in their battling first leg defeat to Viktoria Plzen on Thursday, but bemoaned a lack of luck in the Czech Republic.
Steven Naismith's side conceded an own goal deep into injury time in their away leg to Viktoria Plzen leaving them with a 1-0 deficit for the return leg at Tynecastle.
"It's very difficult to take in the last seconds of the game," Kent said.
"We can take the positives but I think you really saw what we are about as a team. We were sticking together and putting our bodies on the line.
"Luck is just not falling for us at the minute in terms of the chances we had and the saves their keeper made. Then the goal at the end when the ball could have gone either side of the post.
"We are getting there and while this will be a hard thing to get over tonight we have a game to look forward too on Sunday."
Image source, SNSLewis Neilson has challenged himself to become an established Premiership player during his loan spell with St Johnstone.
The 21-year-old joined Hearts from Dundee United two years ago and made 16 appearances in his first season at Tynecastle before turning out 43 times for Partick Thistle on loan last season in the Championship.
The defender has started all three games since joining Craig Levein's side and hopes to keep his place to prove he can compete in the top-flight.
"I felt going into pre-season I was ready to play for Hearts but just the size of the squad at the minute – they've got a vast amount of players of really good quality – so just to continue to get the number of games I need, it was better to come to St Johnstone, where I can hopefully play every week," he said.
"Hopefully I can play as many games as I can here and make my mark in the Premiership, and hopefully that will be enough to go and cement a spot at Hearts next season.
"I definitely feel season on season I’ve become a better player.
"Going into Hearts two years ago, I was maybe too young to make a mark and keep my spot in the team but I got some great experiences, like European games, which were massive for me.
"Then I had a really good loan spell at Thistle, where I played 43 games. Especially as a centre-half, it's hard to replicate game-like situations in training so I need to be playing games, like I got last year, and hopefully it looks like I’m going to be getting this year as well."
Hearts fans, we asked for your thoughts after Thursday night's first-leg defeat to Viktoria Plzen.
Here's what some of you had to say:
David: Very unlucky to lose a goal right at the end. We were generally more solid than of late. The big issue is we have no one who can score, the priority must be to get another striker in before the window closes.
Jim: It was a much better performance last night, some players are still not match fit. We could and should have come away with a better result. Hopefully a full Tynecastle next week will help.
Chris: Even though it was a late loss, I didn’t think we were overly impressive, more that they were out of sorts. We got lucky on a few occasions. Kenneth Vargas has all the attributes we need as a striker apart form one thing - composure. He gets in great positions and does nothing with it constantly.
Image source, SNSRyan McGowan hopes the Tynecastle atmosphere can carry Hearts through to the Europa League proper as he admits "all the pressure" is on his former side after their narrow defeat in the first leg against Victoria Plzen.
Steven Naismith' side looked to have secured a goalless draw to give them the advantage coming back to Gorgie next Thursday, before conceding in the 97th minute.
It leaves Hearts with the task of "breaking their opposition down", something the former Jambos defender says "Scottish sides struggle with".
Still, McGowan was left surprised and somewhat unimpressed by the Czech side.
"I didn't think they were as good as I was expecting them to be," the Livingston man said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
"I don't know if it was an off night or if it was that's just kind of how they are, so I think Hearts will be pretty disappointed having kept it 0-0 for so long. They would have fancied their chances of at least scoring at Tynecastle, whereas now they have to and I think that's where some Scottish sides struggle.
"Over the two legs they can sometimes get that 0-0 or 1-0 defeat, but they kind of struggle when they need to break teams down and I feel next week the opposition will come to Tynecastle and be really organised and hard to beat.
"All the pressure will be on Hearts to try and go out there and get that victory, but I think there were enough signs there last night for Hearts to know that it will be a totally different game next week at Tynecastle."
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Did you make the trip to the Czech Republic or were you following the match from home? Either way, we want your views on the game – have your say here, external.
Image source, SNSHearts head coach Steven Naismith: "Commitment, attitude, discipline, belief. It was all there. It's a blow when you lose a goal so late but we knew it would be a tight tie. It'll be tight next week.
"It's European football, you need to stay disciplined at times then be brave on the ball.
"I didn't think we did that to start with, we were a wee bit safe. We became a bit braver, our structure was good and we caused them problems in possession.
"We've got to use that home advantage next week.
"There are lots of positives. We're disappointed because nothing each gives you a slight advantage going into the second leg.
"But we know what Tynecastle can be like on a European night - we'll need that. And we need to make sure when we've got the ball we create more chances like we did tonight."
Image source, SNSThomas Duncan, BBC Sport Scotland
Hearts pitched up in the Czech Republic winless in their opening three games and on the back of a stinging League Cup exit at the hands of second-tier Falkirk.
Criticism swirled about too much rotation, and too much tactical tweaking.
Undeterred, Naismith made five changes and reverted to a back three again and, after riding an early storm in which Plzen stroked the ball about, Hearts settled.
The returning Frankie Kent was excellent in defence, and the midfield of Malachi Boateng, Cammy Devlin and Jorge Grant started to get on the ball and find gaps.
Kenneth Vargas got into great positions, but never found the required composure to grab an all-important goal.
Overall, it was promising against a side who had only lost to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich at home in Europe since 2017.
Plzen had also only conceded one goal in their five league games so far this season.
That makes Daniel Oyegoke's lapse all the more frustrating as Plzen's visible alarm at the 0-0 scoreline told you how much they wanted to take a lead to Edinburgh.
Now they have it they will feel confident, but with Tynecastle behind them and having seen their opponents close up, Hearts will not shirk the challenge next week.
Image source, SNSMalachi Boateng stood out in midfield for Hearts. He was willing to play forward passes and was part of turning the momentum in the game.
Image source, SNSSteven Naismith has made five changes to the Hearts side that slumped to a shock League Cup defeat to Falkirk to take on Viktoria Plzen.
Lawrence Shankland returns to the XI, along with Frankie Kent, Kye Rowles, Jorge Grant and Cammy Devlin.
Craig Halkett, Balir Spittal, Yutaro Oda, Liam Boyce and Yan Dhanda are the five coming out of the team.
Craig Gordon continues in goal and makes a record-breaking European appearance for Heart.
Fellow keeper Zander Clark, meanwhile, misses out altogether after a back spasm.
Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSThe town of Plzen is probably better known for its beer than its football team and there is no doubt the Hearts fans here in the south west of the Czech Republic are making themselves well acquainted with the amber liquid.
Around 650 supporters have made the journey from Edinburgh to Plzen which is an achievement in itself, coming via rail, road and air to cheer their team on in what will undoubtedly be a difficult test.
European football for fans is the icing on the cake and in the last few years Hearts supporters have had the fortune to have journeys to Norway, Switzerland, Latvia, Italy and Turkey to enjoy.
At times the results have gone against them but these fans often arrive in these places with more hope than expectation.
The task against Plzen may be similar to their qualifying tie against Rosenborg last season where after a narrow defeat in the away match, Hearts turned it round at Tynecastle.
If something of that ilk can happen again then those same supporters will be looking out for next Friday's Europa League draw to see which destinations await them next.
Image source, SNSFormer Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson says Steven Naismith's side simply have to improve if they are to take a positive result from the first leg of their Europa League play-off against Viktoria Plzen.
The Tynecastle side have lost to Dundee in the league and Falkirk in the League Cup in their last two outings as part of a sluggish start to the new season, and Stevenson believes their hopes in the Czech Republic lie largely with their captain Lawrence Shankland.
"I still think we're in a situation at Hearts where Lawrence has to play every game if he's fit, or he's 80% fit," said Stevenson on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
"He has to play because we rely so heavily on him to score goals. Hopefully he can play tonight, the team can play well and they can get a good result.
"The performances need to become a lot, lot better than what they have been in the last two matches.
"My head says it's going to be very, very difficult but my heart is just hoping that we get half a chance, hopefully it falls to Lawrence and we can take it, or one of the boys who have been scoring.
"If we can just put in a good performance, the fans will be happy if they see that more than anything but hopefully if Lawrence gets half a chance, we can nick something."
Image source, SNSCammy Devlin says there is no better time for Hearts to kickstart their season than away to Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of their Europa League play-off.
Steven Naismith's side are in the Czech Republic looking for their first win in any competition, following a goalless draw against Rangers and defeats to Dundee and Falkirk.
Hearts missed out on European competition proper last season after a Conference League play-off defeat to PAOK. They will not suffer the same fate this time around though, with Conference League football on offer should they miss out on the Europa League, and Devlin is relishing the prospect of being back in Europe.
"This is what we work so hard for - to be in these European ties," the Australia midfielder said.
"Every game you have is the next opportunity to rally. It's been disappointing and we didn’t want to start the season this way but this is a completely different game to when we play in Scotland.
"[Viktoria Plzen] are a massive club. They have done well in Europe in recent years. That's something we are well aware of. I’m not sure who the pressure is on tomorrow.
"We just want to stick to our game plan and get back to what we can do and obviously the coaches have showed us clips of how we can hurt them and how they can hurt us.
"We just have to prevent that. It’s going to be a really tough challenge."
Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator
Image source, SNSCraig Gordon will make history for Hearts should he play against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday night.
It would be the goalkeeper's 23rd European appearance for Hearts, surpassing Steven Pressley and Henry Smith's record of 22.
Gordon, 41, has racked up 85 European appearances in total, making his first in a 1-0 away win in the Uefa Cup against Bordeaux back in November 2003.
Striker Lawrence Shankland could also write his name into the history books on Thursday.
A Shankland goal would take put him level with John Robertson as Hearts' top European scorer on seven.
All 12 Premiership sides provided a total of 15,101 minutes to Scottish players aged under 21 in the 2023-24 season.
Those minutes average out to just 1,258 per club, which is the equivalent of only 14 full 90-minute matches.
Six teams failed to reach a total above 700 minutes.
Celtic and Rangers were the worst offenders in the division, with Celtic managing just 89 minutes all in, while Rangers' total was even lower at only 26.
Brian McLauchlin in Plzen
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSHearts battled past Rosenborg last season before falling to PAOK in the Conference League play-off
Steven Naismith has urged Hearts to draw on the experience of last year's victory over Rosenborg as they look to make it past Viktoria Plzen and reach the Europa League.
The Gorgie men lost the away leg 2-1 before triumphing 3-1 at Tynecastle to book a place in the Conference League play-offs 12 months ago.
As Hearts prepare for Thursday's first leg with Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic, Naismith said: "I think it will be a great atmosphere. We need to enjoy it but two we want to embrace the challenge of reaching the Europa League. Thats what we want to achieve.
"There are a lot of similarities to the Rosenborg tie. A very good team with good young players and some experience. Thursday is going to be the same.
"In those two legs we showed we were capable. We didn’t cover ourselves in glory with our defending but we hung in the tie and that's valuable to understand.
"The game on Thursday will ebb and flow. We will be under pressure but we will get chances. None of that will define the tie if we fully focus.
"If we can get out of here with a really good performance and edging the tie it sets it up for next week.”
Brian McLauchlin in Plzen
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSSteven Naismith has been speaking to the media before Hearts' Europa League play-off first leg at Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.
Here are the key points:
Naismith says Hearts' last two performances have been below standard and they are bitterly disappointed with the cup loss to Falkirk but want to "make that right" on Thursday.
He adds: “I think it is magnified because it's the cup and it was that first opportunity to get our hands on silverware. Last year we worked really hard to get in this position."
New players are still adjusting to the team and Naismith says he will have to "freshen" his line-up with four games in the next two weeks.
Hearts need to improve their defending and show better finishing than they did at Falkirk.
"Tough team" Plzen take risks with their press and have "really dangerous" attacking players. The Hearts boss adds: "They have young players who are going to be big talents in the coming years."
Hearts must "embrace the challenge" of trying to reach the Europa League.
If the players can't be up for a European game like this "there is no point in being here".
Expectation is this tie will be similar to facing Rosenborg last year.
Frankie Kent has travelled and is fit to play.
