Hearts are expected to field their strongest available team for tonight’s UEFA Conference League tie with Heidenheim at Tynecastle Park. Victory would effectively guarantee progress to the tournament’s knockout play-off round - the last 32 - and head coach Neil Critchley wants players to seize their moment against German Bundesliga opponents.
Critchley took charge only last month as Hearts began a demanding schedule of seven games inside 23 days. This European match is game six, with the seventh to come on Sunday when the Edinburgh club visit Rangers in the William Hill Premiership.
Hearts will field their best side in the hope of unsettling Heidenheim, as they did Omonoia Nicosia last month in Critchley’s first European game. Both teams have two wins from two in the league phase of this season’s Conference League and will be out to maintain a 100 per cent record. Here is the expected Hearts XI:
