Both Copenhagen and Hearts are in need of points in the UEFA Europa Conference League this week if they have any hope of automatically qualifying for the latter stages of the tournament. The Scottish side are just above the Danes in the league, but that could all change come Thursday evening.
Copenhagen are currently top of their domestic league on goal difference having lost just twice. At the weekend, they won 3-1 in the first leg of the Danish Cup quarter final against Kolding IF who are in the second tier of Danish football. Due to the winter break, their next game in the league isn’t until February.
Hearts lifted themselves off the foot of the table last weekend at the expense of Hibernian thanks to a 2-0 win over Dundee. Like Copenhagen, they have beaten Dinamo Minsk 2-1 away from home in the Conference League, however Hearts haven’t earnt a single point in the competition since October, while Copenhagen’s form is in the other direction.
Copenhagen Predicted Lineup - Theo Sander; Kevin Diks, Pantelis Chatzidiakos, Gabriel Pereira, Giorgi Gocholeishvili; Thomas Delaney, Lukas Lerager; Robert, Viktor Claesson, Mohamed Elyounoussi; Andreas Cornelius
Copenhagen are domestic giants in Denmark, but when it comes to European ventures, they tend to get eliminated early, especially in the Champions League. This competition offers them an opportunity to go far, but right now they are underperforming expectations. After four games, they are in 19th place on five points. Should they lose here, their European adventure this season would be all but over.
Mohamed Elyounoussi is certainly an exciting player to watch. He showed signs of his class while at Southampton, but at times the Premier League was perhaps too big of a step for him. He has seven goals and six assists in the league this season and is looking back to his best, something we haven’t really seen since his days at Basel.
Hearts Predicted Lineup - Craig Gordon; James Penrice, Kye Rowles, Frankie Kent, Adam Forrester; Malachi Boateng, Cameron Devlin; Yan Dhanda, Lawrence Shankland, Alan Forrest; Kenneth Vargas
Hearts have been struggling in the league, so the European fixtures have been almost an escape for their fans. It started off well in the Conference League, winning their opening two games, but it quickly began to resemble their league form with defeats against Heidenheim and Cercle Brugge.
Lawrence Shankland has been playing a little bit deeper as of late, and while that hasn’t solved all of Hearts’ problems, he has been performing there. This season, he has three goals and three assists in the league as well as an assist in the Conference League too.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, these two sides have never met before. Hearts are by no means European regulars and Copenhagen often grace the Champions League, which would mean Hearts would have to win the Scottish Premiership if they wanted to meet them there.
Copenhagen are the better team on paper and are in the better form of the two. They also have home advantage, which is a big bonus on European matchdays. Hearts are pretty bad away from home this season in the league, so adding an extra long journey to their preparation doesn’t bode well.
With all of this in mind, our team of professional experts have decided that the best tip for this game is for Copenhagen to Win to Nil. Odds of 13/10 on Parimatch means that a £10 bet could see a potential return of £23.
(odds subject to change)
Copenhagen 2-0 Hearts
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