Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland has suggested match fitness could be an advantage for the Jambos against Petrocub tonight.
The Gorgie side are just one win away from reaching the Europa Conference League knockout play-off round and must finish the job at Tynecastle against the Moldovans.
It’s a massive night for Hearts with extra prize money on the line and a chance to guarantee European football after Christmas for the first time in 36 years.
Shankland understands the magnitude of the game for the club and supporters amid a desperately poor run of form in the Premiership.
Shankland on Hearts advantage over Petrocub
Hearts fell to the bottom of the top-flight on Sunday after defeat to Kilmarnock but despite the depressing reality of the domestic scene, the fact the Jambos are playing week in week out – unlike Petrocub – could work in their favour, according to Shankland.
Asked if he’s played in many games as important as this, Shankland told the Edinburgh Evening News: “Probably not. For the support, derbies might mean a bit more than this game. We know the importance of it for everybody.
“We just need to concentrate on winning the tie. Petrocub’s league season is really short, only 14 games, and they are finished just now.
“We need to try and use that because we are right in the middle of our season. We need to set a tempo and dictate it, which we always try at Tynecastle. That will be important from the off.”
Shankland gives insight into Petrocub
Expanding on the task at hand tonight that is worth millions for Hearts, Shankland said: “I think we need to have belief. That’s belief in our gameplan and that we can get a result.
“That’s not easy when results aren’t going perfectly during a season. There is a chance here for us to get a really big result in Europe. The biggest thing is having belief in yourself, your team, and a strong togetherness to make sure you win the tie to get through.
“Petrocub haven’t picked up many points in the Conference League so there is that expectancy to go and beat them, but they don’t concede many goals.
“That’s probably their biggest strength. They are quite hard to break down. That’s something we will need to work hard at.
“They also have a wee bit of quality going forward. They haven’t scored a lot of goals either but they do have players who are decent in attack.
“I think the biggest thing is their defensive solidity. They have held Istanbul Basaksehir and Real Betis to low-scoring games, so it’s quite obvious they are a hard team to get through.
“That’s the challenge for us. It’s something we haven’t really been brilliant at in the past, but we need to dictate the game to suit us.”