Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland tells BBC Scotland: "It's a massive night for us, the club and the fans.

"We went out to win in Switzerland and we'll do the same tonight, we need to. In the big games, I've heard it's an amazing atmosphere here."

Image source, SNS

This is Hearts' first home match in European competition since losing to Maltese side Birkirkara in the second round of Europa League qualifying in 2016.

That night, they were booed off the park after suffering a shock 2-1 defeat following a 0-0 draw in the first leg. The less said about that, the better...

Allan Preston
Ex-Hearts midfielder on BBC Sportsound

Hearts got off to a great start in the first leg, with Lawrence Shankland converting a penalty on 22 minutes after a foul on Nathan Atkinson.

However, Zurich were in front by the interval thanks to goals from Adrian Guerrero and Blerim Dzemaili. Both were emphatic finishes, but both stemmed from some sloppy defending.

It wouldn't be a Hearts game without a fantastic Craig Gordon save and the 39-year-old made a vital late stop to deny Fabian Rohner.

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Zurich head coach Franco Foda insists he is looking forward to the raucous crowd in Gorgie.

"This is not the first time that we’ve played in a big and full stadium, we are very much looking forward to it," he said at yesterday's media conference. "Playing in front of 20,000 people is what it’s all about.

"Both for the players and our staff, that is going to give us all a big boost. What’s important for us is that from the first second we need to be really awake and really work with this good atmosphere to make the best of it."

Hearts supporters have been on a real rollercoaster ride in the last decade, with administration and two separate spells outside the Premiership. They had to dig deep with donations to keep the club afloat at the darkest hour and continue to funnel money into the Tynecastle coffers.

"It (the fans’ backing) is probably the biggest driver for us all at the club, from the playing staff, coaching staff,” added Robbie Neilson. "Out of any fans in the world, they probably deserve it more than any because they put their hands in their pocket and saved the club.

"Administration, demotion, coming back up again, top six, European football and last week it was brilliant just to see the fans over in Switzerland. We’ve got another three trips away and three home games and we’ve certainly earned it.”

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"We have to use the atmosphere to our advantage," said Hearts manager Robbie Neilson on Wednesday. "Away goals don’t count so it’s a straight shootout. We’re a goal behind so we have to take the game to them. I would expect them to try to manage the game and hit us on the counter-attack because they’re very good on the counter.

"We need to make sure we cover that but we’ll have 20,000 fans here and they’ll want to see us perform. We want to make sure we start the game well."

Allan Preston
Ex-Hearts midfielder on BBC Sportsound

Craig Levein
Former Hearts manager on BBC Sportsound

The visitors were able to make 10 changes for a comfortable cup win at the weekend.

Tonight, they show just one alteration from the first leg since Blerim Dzemaili, who scored the second goal last Thursday, has not recovered from injury. Cheick Conde is his midfield replacement.

Hearts lost defender Craig Halkett to an early injury in the first leg in Switzerland.

For Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Celtic Park, several regulars were rested, including captain Craig Gordon, Stephen Kingsley, Barrie McKay, Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland.

They are all back, along with Alan Forrest and Liam Boyce, who did not start in Switzerland, while Michael Smith is preferred to Nathan Atkinson, who was given a bit of a torrid time in the first leg.

Image source, SNS

Hearts: Gordon, M Smith, Kingsley, Rowles, Cochrane, Devlin, Grant, Forrest, McKay, Boyce, Shankland.

Substitutes: Stewart, Atkinson, Sibbick, Haring, Mackay-Steven, Halliday, Neilson, C Smith, Ginnelly, Pollock.

Image source, BBC Sport

Zurich: Brecher, Omeragic, Kryeziu, Mets, Boranijasevic, Conde Selnaes, Marchesano, Guerrero, Viunnyk, Avdijaj.

Substitutes: Kostadinovic, De Nitti, Kamberi, Aliti, Krasniqi, Santini, Okita, Tosin, Hornschuh, Gnonto, Rohner, Gogia.

Hearts will play European group stage football this season. We've known that for a while now, but which competition will they be in?

If the Edinburgh side can overcome a 2-1 deficit at home to Swiss champions Zurich this evening, then it will be the Europa League. If not, they have the safety net of the Europa Conference League.

While it's a pretty handy consolation prize, none of the home fans heading for a sold out Tynecastle are ready to settle for that just yet.

No Scottish side outside Celtic and Rangers has played group stage European football since Aberdeen's Uefa Cup run of 2007-08.