Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian Predictions

The UEFA Europa League Qualifying stages continue this week with plenty of sides looking to finally confirm their place in the group stages. Two of those teams include Viktoria Plzen and Heart of Midlothian FC who take on each other in the first leg this week.

Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian FC Key Stats

• Viktoria Plzen have 5 clean sheets in their last 6 games
• Hearts haven’t won a game since May
• Hearts have scored just 2 goals in their last 5 fixtures
• Viktoria Plzen are unbeaten in their last 4 home matches

Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian Previous Meetings

Believe it or not, these two teams have never faced each other in their histories making this the first meeting.

In fact Viktoria Plzen have never even faced Scottish opposition.

Hearts have faced teams from the Czech Republic before though. In 6 games against Czech opposition they have 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. This record dates back as far as 1986/87 where they faced Dukla Prague in the UEFA Cup. However they have also played Slavia Prague (1992/93) and Sparta Prague (2006/07). Will they pick up another win in this game?

Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian Team News & Predicted Lineups

Viktoria Plzen come into this game with a large injury list which is expected to have a slight effect on this week's lineup.

Some of the missing names include Lukas Hejda, Christophe Kabongo and Jan Sykora. However they could see a return to the team for Lukas Cerv and Robin Hranac who are returning from a break following their Euros campaigns.

Hearts made 8 changes for their loss against Dundee in the Scottish League Cup in the previous match and will be expected to make more changes in this game.

They appear as though they will remain without Frankie Kent, Beni Beningime and Calem Nieuwenhof who are all injured.

Viktoria Plzen - Marian Tvrdon, Sampson Dweh, Robin Hranac, Vaclav Jemelka, Jan Kopic, Lukas Cerv, Lukas Kalvach, Tom Sloncik, Milan Havel, Pavel Sulc, Daniel Vasulin

Heart of Midlothian - Zander Clark, Gerald Taylor, Stephen Kingsley, Kye Rowles, James Penrice, Cameron Devlin, Jorge Grant, Yan Dhanda, Lawrence Shankland, Barrie McKay, Kenneth Vargas

Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian Player To Watch - Pavel Sulc

Viktoria Plzen’s Pavel Sulc is on fire at the moment.

In his last 7 games this season he has 3 goals and is sure to be a difference maker when called upon in this game against what is a very weak Hearts defence.

If he gets the chances he is almost certain to put the ball in the back of the net so watch out for him in this game.

Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian Prediction

This game is bound to be a close one however with Viktoria Plzen’s home record and Hearts struggles at the start of their league campaign we would expect the hosts to come away with a victory.

However, this won’t be an easy task with Hearts likely to bring the game to their opponents.

That being said, our team of professional experts have determined that the best value tip for this game has to be Viktoria Plzen To Win & Under 2.5 Match Goals. With odds of 3/1, £10 has the potential to return up to £40.

Where To Watch Viktoria Plzen vs Heart of Midlothian

This game is set to get underway on Thursday 22nd August 2024 at 18:00 pm. However, unfortunately this game is unavailable to watch in the UK.