Will the Swiss champions break the deadlock?

FC Zurich have dreamed of playing in the Champions League. As Swiss champions, however, they do not automatically qualify for the top flight, and after losing to Qarabag Agdam, their only hope now is to at least play in the Europa League. To do so, however, they have to beat Hearts of Midlothian from Scotland in the first and second legs.

FCZ’s international journey has been a little longer. After the defeat against the champions from Azerbaijan, they beat FC Linfield from Northern Ireland in the third qualifying round for the Europa League. Hearts, meanwhile, make their first appearance in the European Cup this season on Thursday after finishing third in last year’s Scottish Premiership.

Participation in the Conference League group stage is already assured for both clubs. However, as champions of the Confederation, Franco Foda’s side imagined more and are still doing so. The hosts are initially favoured at Letzigrund on Thursday.

However, the Scots have made a much better start to the new season. Not much is going right for the Swiss yet. That’s why we can imagine that the visitors can build a good starting position at Letzigrund. That’s why we’re flirting with placing a bet on double chance X2 between FC Zurich and Hearts of Midlothian

FC Zurich – Statistics & current form

Since 1999, FC Zurich have only started worse in the Super League than in this season. In fact, it is the worst start to a season for a Swiss champion in history. Perhaps the signing of Franco Foda as the successor to championship coach Andre Breitenreiter will soon turn out to be a misunderstanding for the Zurichers.

Still without a win in the championship

In the Super League, Zurich are still waiting for their first win. After five games, just two points are on the books. A single goal in five games is a disaster for a reigning champion. Franco Foda’s team is therefore rightly at the bottom of the league table. Although there were two victories against Linfield internationally, these should hardly be FCZ’s benchmark. We therefore stick to looking at the odds for a draw or even an away win ahead of the FC Zurich vs Hearts match.

After all, there was the first goal of the season last weekend. But the 1-1 draw with the promoted team in Winterthur was still probably the worst performance of the champions this season. FCZ even fell behind with a quarter of an hour to go. The point gained after Fabian Rohner’s equaliser was more than happy and could hardly be called deserved.

It seems very possible that Franco Foda will make a major rotation on Thursday, because things cannot be much worse than last time against Hearts. After all, there are no personnel problems. All players of the Swiss champions are fit for action, although self-confidence is likely to be in the cellar after this miserable start to the season.

Predicted line-up of FC Zurich:
Brecher – Aliti, Kamberi, Kryeziu – Conde – Guerrero, Avdijaj, Dzemaili, Rohner – Gnonto, Marchesano – Coach: Foda

Last matches played by FC Zurich:

Super League
14/08/2022 – FC Winterthur 1 – 1 FC Zurich

Europa League Qualification
11/08/2022 – FC Zurich 3 – 0 Linfield FC

Super League
07/08/2022 – FC Zurich 0 – 3 FC Sion

Europa League Qualification
05/08/2022 – Linfield FC 0 – 2 FC Zurich

Super League
30/07/2022 – FC St. Gallen 2 – 0 FC Zurich

Hearts – Statistics & current form

After six long years, Hearts of Midlothian have returned to the international stage. The team has hardly any experience in the European Cup. That’s why coach Robbie Neilson has come up with something special. He has sought advice from Glasgow’s two Scottish big players on how best to prepare for an international game.

Unbeaten in the Premier League

Current form should definitely not stand in the way of a successful match at Letzigrund, as Hearts are still unbeaten in their three Scottish Premier League games so far and are third in the standings with seven points, behind only Celtic and Rangers. It still doesn’t sound like you have to predict a defeat for the Scots in the FC Zurich versus Hearts of Midlothian clash.

The dress rehearsal went more than satisfactorily for Robbie Neilson’s team. Last Sunday, Dundee United were the guests at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh. After one hour and goals from Lawrence Shankland, Barry McKay and Jorge Grant the game was over at 3-0. After Dundee had scored a consolation goal, Josh Ginnelly made it 4-1 in the final minute.

Hearts look settled again this season. Robbie Nelson has shaped this team over the last few years and is now reaping the rewards. Therefore, the Scots will play with their regular line-up at the Letzigrund and will probably not make any changes for the weekend. With Beni Baningime only one player is missing due to injury.

Predicted Hearts line-up:
Gordon – Cochrane, Rowles, Halkett, Smith – Grant, Devlin – McKay, Boyce, Forrest – Shankland – Coach: Neilson

Last matches played by Hearts:

Premiership
14/08/2022 – Hearts 4 – 1 Dundee United

07/08/2022 – Hibernian 1 – 1 Hearts

30/07/2022 – Hearts 2 – 1 Ross County

Club Friendlies
23/07/2022 – Hearts 2 – 1 Stoke

21/07/2022 – Preston 2 – 1 Hearts

FC Zurich – Hearts Direct comparison / H2H record

Hearts of Midlothian are anything but a perennial contender in international competition. It is therefore hardly surprising that there have been no games between FC Zurich and Hearts so far. The Swiss, however, have a negative record against Scottish teams, with 3-5 wins in ten games. The Scots, on the other hand, have an even record against the Swiss. In five matches, there has been one win, one defeat and three draws.

FC Zurich – Hearts Tip

Fc Zurich have not been very successful so far this season. The two wins against the second-rate Northern Irish side from Linfield can hardly be included in the assessment. Otherwise, there has been no victory in seven competitive matches. In the Super League, they managed just one goal and two points in five games. That means tenth and last place in the standings.

Hearts, on the other hand, have made a very good start to the new season, picking up seven points from their first three games in the Scottish Premier League and are still unbeaten.

For the FC Zurich team, it is clear that an extreme improvement is needed to at least still play in the Europa League. However, we are of the opinion that the Scots have the better prospects overall. For this reason, we have also decided to play the betting odds on the double chance X2 in the first leg between FC Zurich and Hearts of Midlothian.