SportsMall previews Thursday's Conference League clash between Hearts and Omonia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
glasses will drive omony Second day of competition on Thursday night at Tynecastle Park conference leagueBoth teams will try to maintain their perfect start in the league phase.
The hosts claimed a spectacular 2-1 victory in their first league match with a 94th-minute winner, while the visitors won their first match 4-0.
Competition Preview
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Hearts made a miserable start to the 2024-25 campaign, including exiting the Europa League play-offs and failing to win their first 10 games of the season, relegating them to Europe's third-tier competition.
That bad streak led to the dismissal of the former coach Steven Naismith After eight consecutive defeats in all competitions, the decision was quickly justified as Jam Darts showed clear signs of improvement in subsequent matches.
liam fox Initially taking charge on an interim basis, he led the team to a draw against Ross County in their first game and a 2–1 victory against Dynamo Minsk in the opening match of the 2024–25 Conference League.
Hearts suffered a narrow defeat against Aberdeen, conceding a goal in the 88th minute to give the Dons the win, but a good performance against unbeaten opponents would have boosted the team's morale.
Neil Critchley Finally hired as the new permanent manager at Tynecastle Park, the former Blackpool boss enjoyed a dream start with a 4-0 win against St Mirren at the weekend, marking Jam Darts' first league win.
Critchley revealed the impressive result will act as a launching pad for the rest of the season and hopes Hearts can extend their perfect start under his leadership with another positive result when they host Omonia at Tynecastle Park on Thursday.
However, Omonia could prove difficult as the Cypriot side sit second in the Conference League standings after an impressive 4-0 win over Vikingur Reykjavík in their opening match.
They followed that victory with disappointment in both games, losing 2-0 to Aris in the Cypriot First Division and 1-0 to Enosis Neon Paralimneo, as Omonia fell from second to sixth in the table with 12 points from seven games.
Valdas Dambraskas They will look to end that run with at least a point from their trip to face Hearts on Thursday, but the visitors certainly won't be favorites coming into the game.
Hearts Conference League Format:
Heart shape (all matches):
Omonia Conference League Format:
Group messages
without hearts Calem Nieuwenhof (thigh muscle), Geraldine Taylor (knee) and Yutaro Oda Due to injury in this game.
Daniel Oyekoke He has been forced out of his last two Scottish Premiership games due to injury and the defender could be rested as a result.
On the other hand, Critchley could pick an unchanged team for this game after an impressive 4-0 win in their first game.
Aiming to bounce back from two consecutive disappointing defeats, Omonia can name a similar team that achieved a 4-0 victory in the opening match of the Conference League.
Veteran forward Steven Jovedic He has started each of the two games since that victory and the 34-year-old could retain his place in the starting 11 here.
Possible starting order of hearts:
Garden; Forrester, Kent, Rolls, Penrys; Tanda, Baningim, Bateng, Spital; Shankland, Vargas
Possible starting lineup for Omonia:
Fabiano; Dionkou, Coulibaly, Panagiotou, Khammas; Maric, Erakovic; Loizou, Costa, Simic; jovetic
We say: Hearts 3-1 Omonia
The hosts will certainly come into this match and, buoyed by their impressive 4-0 win at the weekend, will hope they claim a comfortable victory here.
Click here to see the data analysis of the most likely results, scores and more for this match.
