Basaksehir v Hearts

Basaksehir should be licking their lips at the prospect of a big win on Thursday, with that a match Hearts could really do without. Although the Scottish side are the only team in Conference League Group A to have beaten RFS twice, they are already eliminated from the competition and are guarantee to finish third in the group. A long journey with a severely depleted squad is the last thing this group of players could do with.

Indeed, this is Hearts’ least meaningful fixture during a busy schedule that will see them play Motherwell and Rangers in the six days following this match. As a result, it would be surprising if some rotation was not employed in this encounter given the number of injury issues they are presently suffering with.

Basaksehir, meanwhile, likely have to win this match in order to secure top spot in the group, which of course means two fewer matches when the competition returns in the spring. On top of that, their home record in the competition has been excellent. They beat both Fiorentina and RFS here 3-0, while their 4-0 victory over the Jambos in Edinburgh in September underlined their advantage in quality over the Scottish side.

How great is the danger of them easing off later in the game? Perhaps not so significant. After defeats against Fiorentina and Fenerbahce last week, they will want to bounce back with a resounding victory and their next match is not until Monday – a home fixture against struggling Giresunspor.