Hearts can breathe new life into their campaign by securing European football beyond Christmas for the first time in 35 years.
The Jambos have endured a miserable Premiership campaign and could soon become embroiled in a relegation battle unless results drastically improve. Sunday’s defeat at ten-man Kilmarnock has only further incensed the maroon faithful, who expected their side to be pushing Celtic and Rangers at the top end of the table. Yet while their domestic form has been woeful, the Gorgie club have enjoyed a decent European campaign, winning two of their five games.
Tonight they come up against Moldovan champions Petrocub, who are second bottom of the Europa Conference League table and one of only two teams to have officially been eliminated already after taking just one point. A sell-out crowd is expected to pack out Tynecastle as the Jambos attempt to secure their place in the knockout stages and here, Record Sport examines how Neil Critchley’s men can book their spot in tomorrow’s draw.
How Hearts can qualify for the play-offs
The task is straight forward. A victory tonight would guarantee Hearts a place in the top 24. As things stand, the Edinburgh outfit sit 23rd but they could shoot even further up the table and clinch their place in the latter stages of a continental competition for the first time since 1989, when they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. All they have to do is overcome a team without a single win in Europe’s third-tier competition this season. With home advantage, the odds are certainly in Hearts’ favour.
Would a draw be enough?
Well, that’s tricky. A draw would take the Jambos to seven points, which could be enough, but it would depend on other results. There are eight teams behind who could overtake Hearts (Istanbul Basaksehir, Celje, Molde, Backa Topola, Astana, HJK, St. Gallen, Noah) if they fail to win. There’s an extremely slim chance that the Jambos could somehow finish above the elimination zone with a defeat, but they would be relying on seven out of eight other results going their way. The brilliant Scotland’s Coefficient account on X outlines these exact scenarios.
Prize money
The Jambos have already banked around £3.3million in prize money from their European exploits, which includes their participation fee and performance bonuses after the wins over Dinamo Minsk and Omonoia Nicosia. They’ll pocket another £333k if they beat Petrocub tonight and progression into the knockouts would see an additional £165k come their way. Their coffers will be further boosted by another £252k if they finish in the top 24.
When is the play-off draw?
Hopefully, Hearts will be in the hat for Friday’s play-off draw in Nyon, which takes place at 12noon UK time. As the top eight sides in the league phase automatically advance into the last 16, the teams finishing ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the round of 16. Clubs that finish between ninth and 16th in the table will be seeded and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. A victory for Hearts means they would be guaranteed to finish at least 22nd, meaning that the highest-ranked team they can face is 11th. That could potentially throw up a favourable draw with Shamrock Rovers in the first knockout round.
When will the play-off fixtures be played?
The play-offs are held over the course of two weeks. The first legs will be played on February 13, 2025 and the return ties will be hosted exactly a week later on February 20. Should Hearts qualify, they will play the first leg at Tynecastle.