Robbie Neilson has named his Hearts side to face RFS as he targets a big European win under the lights at Tynecastle.
The Jambos have picked up one win from their four outings to date - coming against tonight's opposition in Riga in the reverse with Lawrence Shankland - who scored a hat-trick at the weekend against Celtic - and Alan Forrest on target for a famous win on the road. The group bottom seeds are in the capital tonight and the home side could keep qualification hopes alive going into the final round of fixtures if they get a victory and Fiorentina drop points against Istanbul İstanbul Başakşehir in the early kick-off.
The Jambos go into this one off the back of a Gorgie thriller against Ange Postecoglou's champions. The capital outfit came out on the wrong end of a 4-3 defeat, but the performance will give Neilson confidence ahead of this one and going forward as they bid to get their season back on track after a tricky period coupled up with a mounting injury list.
READ MORE: Stephen Humphrys Hearts injury latest as Robbie Neilson gives update on squad ahead of RFS clash
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Speaking ahead of facing RFS, Neilson said: “We’re not really thinking that far ahead, to be honest with you. Where we go from here will depend on what happens in the other games. We have to win to give ourselves some sort of chance.
“It’s interesting, when you watch their (RFS’s) away games recently away to Fiorentina and Istanbul; they really sat in and defended. Tomorrow night will be a lot different because they need a result if they’re hoping to qualify. They play different styles, so we’ll see whether they change their system to reflect how they might play at home. We’ll wait and see.
“Of course, recently we’ve played well in periods of matches. The disappointing thing is that we haven’t picked up any points. We all know that these are good players though, and I know that they’re displaying good performance levels.”
HEARTS XI: Gordon, Smith, Sibbick, Kingsley, Cochrane, McKay, Kiomourtzoglou, Grant, halliday, Ginnelly, Shankland.
Subs: Stewart, Clark, Forrest, Neilson, Henderson, Smith, Pollock
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