Hearts vs. Fiorentina Betting Tips: Hosts can get a result against travel shy visitors

It’s not been a great week for Scottish clubs in Europe with a lacklustre Rangers sinking to a third straight defeat while Celtic were undone against RB Leipzig. So, it’s now up to Hearts to bring the pride back when they host Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night (8pm, BT Sport 3).

Match preview and two tips can be found below…

When the draw was made Fiorentina were expected to wrestle control of Group A, yet after two games they find themselves rock-bottom and winless. Instead, it’s İstanbul Başakşehir that have taken centre stage with maximum points, while Hearts occupy 2nd place after rebounding from a 4-0 pummelling at home to Başakşehir with a 2-0 win over RFS, who are 3rd.

Hearts had enjoyed a mini-revival with that result followed by a 3-0 win at Motherwell, only for Robbie Neilson’s men to lose 4-0 at home to Rangers over the weekend, albeit they were reduced to 10 men after 39 minutes. The Jam Tarts will need to forget about that thumping quickly as they bid to add another blow to a wounded Fiorentina.

It’s been a strange season for Fiorentina who have carved out draws against the likes of Napoli and Juventus, but struggled for wins, having recorded just the one victory from their last 10 matches in all competitions.

The Serie A side have lost three of their last four matches, yet are still well fancied at odds-on to return to Italy with their first group stage win of the campaign. Bookmakers aren’t really giving Hearts much of a chance at 7/1, whereas a draw can be backed at 18/5.

Both clubs have really struggled for consistency this season, making it difficult to back either side outright. However, I do think there’s some potential value to be had in Hearts at 9/5 in the double-chance market (win or draw).

Yes, their form is wobbly. Yet, the win in their last European outing was a big confidence booster ahead of these crucial back-to-back games with an out-of-sorts Fiorentina.

The Italian outfit are struggling for wins at the moment. Just once in 10 matches dating back to August have they tasted victory, and have failed to even score in six of those. Their away form has been dire, winless in 10 matches on the road in all competitions stretching back six months, losing eight of those fixtures. On top of that, The Violets haven’t even found the back of the net in five of their six away games this season, scoring just once in the other.

“We seem to fall apart at the first sign of difficulty,” was Vincenzo Italiano’s damning assessment of their 3-0 defeat to Başakşehir last month. “The game was in the balance, but it ended 3-0 because we are fragile. When something goes wrong, we just exit the game.”

It may not be a classic but I feel on home soil under the floodlights in front of a passionate crowd that Hearts definitely have an opportunity of getting a result tonight.

For the second tip I’ve had a play on a double in the ‘to be carded’ market, with Lawrence Shankland (13/5) and Sofyan Amrabat (5/2) both to be shown a card producing this 12/1 tickle with Paddy Power.

Both players have been frequent offenders this season. Hearts striker Shankland has received a yellow in four of his last nine games, including the 2-0 win at RFS last time out in Europe; a game in which he also scored.

Fiorentina's defensive midfielder Amrabat, who has played as a centre-back, tops Shankland’s tally with six yellows already this season, in just 11 games. In fact, he’s been booked in each of his last four outings, and in five of the last six.

With a lot at stake in this crunch clash, tensions could run high. We've already seen a fair share of cards in each of their games: In Hearts’ last Europa Conference League game the ref dished out a whopping nine yellows, while a Fiorentina player has seen red in two of their last four games, which includes going down 10 men in their defeat to Başakşehir.