- 1 Hearts vs SK Rapid: two red-hot attacks collide
- 2 Hearts: goals galore, balance nowhere
- 3 SK Rapid: top of the pile in Austria and already in full stride
- 4 Conference League prediction Hearts vs SK Rapid
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Hearts vs SK Rapid: two red-hot attacks collide 
Rapid Vienna put eight past Grazer AK on Sunday. Hearts have scored 11 in their last three outings.
So this Conference League play-off brings together two sides who have forgotten how to shut the tap off. The first leg is on Thursday at Tynecastle Park.
The Austrians arrive in Scotland top of their league, ahead of LASK Linz on goal difference. Three games, three wins, no slip-ups.
Hearts have had a much rougher European summer. The Edinburgh club were dumped out 6-0 on aggregate by Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying, then beaten 7-2 by Benfica in the Europa League third qualifying round.
This tie is now their final route into a continental league phase this season. The draw has handed them a third Austrian opponent in two months.
Hearts: goals galore, balance nowhere 
Eleven goals in three games against Dundee United, Benfica and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. That tells you plenty about Hearts’ firepower.
On Sunday in the Scottish Cup, Hearts beat Inverness 6-2 at home. The way it unfolded was worth a look.
Christian Borchgrevink had opened the scoring with a header before the break, only for Ryan Duncan and Alfie Bavidge to turn it around early in the second half. Rogers Mato pulled things level, then four goals arrived in the last 15 minutes.
Calvin Miller scored from the spot, James Wilson nodded in, Claudio Braga and Miller again wrapped it up. A late burst that showed how easily they can blow a side apart, but also how little control they can hold for long spells.
That same back line conceded six against Sturm Graz and seven against Benfica this summer. Against an Austrian attack that can net eight in a night, that kind of imbalance gets punished fast.
Vrancken himself made a key point after the Inverness game: facing a deep block is a very different job from facing Benfica, who pushed high and left space behind. Rapid won’t leave those same motorway lanes.
The club have also lodged a bid for American striker JJ Williams. A sign the forward line is still very much a work in progress, despite those 11 recent goals.
The schedule does Hearts no favours either. This play-off comes just four days after a cup match that went the distance.
The key is whether the side can survive the first hour without cracking. Against Inverness, that was exactly when the wheels started to come off, between the 45th and 60th minute.
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SK Rapid: top of the pile in Austria and already in full stride 
Eight goals on Sunday against Grazer AK, none conceded. That made it three wins from three in the Austrian Bundesliga for SK Rapid.
The Vienna club sit first in the table, ahead of LASK Linz only on goal difference. It is a very different start from last season.
Rapid finished fifth last term, 12 points behind champions LASK and 10 off runners-up Sturm Graz. The step up is real.
Their European run is following the same upward curve. Paide were brushed aside 6-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round, never really threatening the Viennese side.
Marco Tilio, formerly of Celtic, is also in the Rapid squad. He knows Scottish football, and Hearts in particular, better than most in that dressing room.
The recent scoring output tilts heavily in the Austrians’ favour. Eight in one game versus 11 in three for Hearts.
Expected Hearts XI: Not available at the time of publication.
Expected SK Rapid XI: Not available at the time of publication.
Conference League prediction Hearts vs SK Rapid
Our prediction: Over 2.5 goals
Hearts have scored 11 times in their last three matches and conceded 13 across their two European ties this summer. There is not much room for a cagey night there.
At the other end, Rapid have just smashed eight in one game and keep winning since the Austrian league got going. Both attacks are humming, both defences are open for business.
The call is straightforward: this first leg goes past two goals.
in your pocket.
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