HEARTS face a daunting task when they travel to Tuscany to try and gain pride and a slice of revenge as they face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League.
The Jambos had high hopes going into last week's game, but they were well and truly dismantled by the Italians and the sending off of Lewis Neilson didn't help them.
It's been a stuttering start to the season for Hearts after last term's third place finish and the praise that went with it.
They've been taken apart a few times in Europe now and they are struggling to cope with the hectic schedule.
However, they will at least take some solace and encouragement from their battling 2-2 draw at Kilmarnock at the weekend when they looked dead and buried at two goals down.
They face a Viola side who produced their best performance of the season at Tynecastle last week, but have been a huge disappointment in Serie A.
A 4-0 home hammering from Lazio on Monday was the last thing they needed and they are languishing in 13th place.
A side note to the game is the off-field row after Hearts failed to provide hot water for the showers after the game last week. They should be in for an interesting reception in Florence.
How the bookies view it
Hearts have been utterly written off here and can be backed at a remarkable 25/1 at Coral.
Fiorentina are unbackable 1/7 with UniBet and even a draw is 7/1 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
The sides have only met once and Fiorentina romped to that comfortable 3-0 win at Tynecastle last week.
Players to watch
Luka Jovic netted the third goal in Edinburgh last week and the Serbian international is 11/10 to score again on Thursday with 888Sport.
Lawrence Shankland faces a tough shift in Florence, but the Scotland international remains Hearts' best shout for a goal and he's 11/2 to score with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Surely Hearts will have learned something from the bruising defeat they got last week at Tynecastle. While it's a big ask for them to get anything against a Serie A heavyweights, they can at least retain some respectability by keeping the score down.
Fiorentina's confidence will have taken a knock too after they received a hammering of their own and they are more likely to be looking towards their next Serie A game with Lecce.
It's worth backing Hearts with a two-goal start on the handicaps at 33/20 with Ladbrokes.
Hearts will have a good few thousand backing them in Florence and they will have some sort of a go to reward them. They are capable of scoring – as they could have done last week despite the final result – and both teams to score and a home win looks attractive at 12/5 with bet365.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Fiorentina and Hearts will be played on Oct 13, 2022 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Fiorentina vs Hearts prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
