Heart Of Midlothian vs Rapid Vienna

Heart of Midlothian welcome Rapid Vienna to Tynecastle Park on Thursday, 20 August 2026 for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round. The 7.45pm BST kick‑off in Edinburgh pits a Hearts side reeling from Europa League elimination against an Austrian outfit in commanding form, with a lucrative league‑phase place on the line.

Team News and Injury Latest

Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken is contending with a significant injury list. Stephen Kingsley and Malachi Fagan‑Walcott are both ruled out and were not included in the 22‑man ‘List A’ squad submitted to UEFA. Rogers Mato and Christian Borchgrevink were also omitted as the club could only name a reduced panel due to a shortage of club‑trained players.

First‑choice goalkeeper Zander Clark missed the 1‑1 draw with Benfica because of a minor injury and, although he is expected to begin training imminently, the club moved to sign former Rangers stopper Kieran Wright on a short‑term deal. Wright will act as third‑choice behind Beau Reus and Ryan Fulton, while 19‑year‑old Matthew Gillies has been added to the bench from his loan at Stenhousemuir. Tom Renaud and Amadou Ba‑Sy both got valuable minutes against Benfica, and Vrancken has indicated he will continue to manage fitness carefully across the squad.