They secured their place back in April with a Scottish Cup semi-final win over Hibs, but Hearts will finally take a step closer to knowing who stands between them and place in the Europa League group stages.
Robbie Neilson ’s side are 180 minutes away from reaching the group stages of the competition for the first time in 18 years. The Jambos were the first Scottish side to do so back in 2004, when it was still called the UEFA Cup. A two-legged win over Portuguese cracks Braga saw Craig Levein’s team progress to a section including Dutch giants Feyenoord, Schlake of the Bundesliga, Basel and Ferencvaros.
A 3-0 defeat in De Kuip was followed up with a narrow 1-0 loss to Schalke at Murrayfield. A famous win in Switzerland was secured with a last minute strike by current boss Neilson, before Ferencvaros also edged their encounter at the home of Scottish Rugby. Future Tynecastle manager Csaba Laszlo was booted on the touchline by John Robertson for his troubles.
There’s still a fair few games to be played before Hearts know exactly who they’ll face, but they at least have an idea of their potential opponents when everyone goes into the hat next week. They know that even defeat means the Euro adventure won't be over before it’s even begun, as they’ll drop into the Europa Conference League.
However, they can cross that bridge if they even come to it. Record Sport has all the info you need ahead of the draw.
Where and when does the Europa league playoff draw take place?
The draw takes place on Tuesday, August 2 at 12.00pm.
It will be held at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Who could Hearts face in the playoff round?
This is where the uncertainty lies.
The Jambos are one of seven Priority 1 teams entering at this stage, alongside Gent (BEL), Austria Vienna (AUT), Neil Lennon’s Omonia Nicosia (CYP), Sivasspor (TUR), Dnipro-1 (UKR), and Silkeborg (DEN). At the very least, they know they can’t be drawn against any of those six.
They’ll be joined by the five winners from the Europa League third qualifying draw champions path (priority 3). The ties for this round are:
Malmö FF (SWE) vs Diddeleng (LUX)
Shamrock Rovers (IRL) vs Shkupi (MKD)
Linfield (NIR) vs Zürich (SUI)
Olympiacos (GRE) vs Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Maribor (SLO) vs HJK Helsinki (FIN)
Finally, two winners from the Europa League third round qualifying draw main path (priority 4) will also be in the hat. The ties for this round are:
AEK Larnaca (CYP) vs Partizan (SRB)
Fenerbahçe (TUR) vs Slovácko (CZE)
What are the dates for the Europa League play-off round draw?
The first leg ties will be played on Thursday, August 18. Second legs take place a week later on Thursday, August 25.
Hearts will know exactly who they face on Thursday August 11 after the third round qualifying ties are concluded.
Is the Europa League play-off round draw on TV?
No. Unfortunately the draw will not be broadcast live on TV.
Is there a live stream of the Europa League play-off round draw?
Yes. The draw will be streamed live on UEFA’s website.
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