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Cercle Brugge will host Hearts of Midlothian at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Thursday evening in league phase action in the 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League. The hosts will be looking to get back to winning ways in Europe and continue their push to finish in the direct playoff places.
Cercle's 0-0 draw against LASK in the previous round saw them drop to 15th place in the Conference League table after winning their first and losing their second game. They are currently two points behind Fiorentina in eighth place and a win on Thursday will be beneficial if they are to clinch direct qualification to the knockout rounds.
Hearts have lost four of their last five competitive games, with their most recent European game ending in a disappointing 2-0 home loss against German outfit Heidenheim.
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The visitors won their opening two games of the Europa Conference league campaign and will look to increase the two-point gap between them and Thursday's hosts.
Cercle Brugge vs Hearts of Midlothian Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Cercle Brugge and Hearts.
- Cercle Brugge have played against Scottish opponents twice in their history, winning one and drawing the other.
- Hearts have faced Belgian opposition on six occasions. They have won three of those games and lost the remaining three, scoring eight goals and conceding nine.
- The hosts have the joint third-best offensive record in the Conference League with seven goals scored in just three games.
- Only two teams in the top half of the table have scored fewer goals than the visitors' four.
Cercle Brugge vs Hearts of Midlothian Prediction
Cercle will need to be at their best to earn all three points when they host their Scottish opponents on Thursday. They have struggled for results and goals in recent outings but will rely on home advantage when they host Hearts.
The visitors will be satisfied to sit back and get a draw which will keep them ahead of their midweek opponents in the table and in contention for direct knockout qualification. They have, however, been abysmal away from home with only two wins in 11 competitive away games this season and are unlikely to end that poor run on Thursday.
Prediction: Cercle Brugge 1-0 Hearts
Cercle Brugge vs Hearts of Midlothian
Tip 1 - Result: Cercle Brugge to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Three of the hosts' last four competitive games have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just two of Groen en Zwart's last nine matches)
