Robbie Neilson has been doing his homework on Fiorentina and has his Hearts game plan ready to rock at Tynecastle.
The Jambos picked up three points in their last Europa Conference League outing at RFS before the international break to move into second spot in the section. Victory over the Italian outfit could see the capital club take real control in their quest for qualification to the knockout stages.
On the task at hand, he said: "We have started to watch them. Our analyst has done all his work and we know they are a very, very good team. Technically, they play a very high and aggressive line. Their centre-halves squeeze the game massively, one of them going all the way in [to midfield].
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“There is a lot of space in behind them as a result. Our decision will be what we do here. Tynecastle, under the lights, on a Thursday night, we have to have a go.
"We need to have energy, pace and look to take the game to them. On the tight pitch here, we want to go after it and bring that positivity back again.”
Hearts boss Neilson continued: "We've got options, that's for sure. One of the good things about Saturday was that we managed to get game time for some of the boys. Whether it be the full match, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever, we got a bit of game time so the lads are fresh.
“The only ones who didn't get on the pitch were Nathaniel Atkinson – who played when he was away with Australia – plus Toby Sibbick and Gary Mackay-Steven. They are fine and will do a bit of extra work but everyone else has been playing.”
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