Murrayfield will be no place for faint Hearts

Team details (probable)

Arguably the biggest tie in Heart of Midlothian's history - that was the consensus among the Tynecastle players yesterday as they prepared for this evening's qualifying encounter with AEK Athens in the first leg of a contest that could take them into the Champions League for the first time.

If that simple fact should motivate a Hearts squad anxious to build on last season's unexpected domestic success - Scottish Premier League runners-up and Scottish Cup winners - it should not be forgotten that AEK have a substantial reason for desiring similar progress, because this season's final will be played at their Olympic Stadium next May.

Where these sides are concerned, parallels abound. Two years ago both clubs were in dire financial straits. Hearts were saved by the intervention of the colourful and autocratic Vladimir Romanov, who authorised a substantial intake of reinforcements six months ago in his quest to see the Edinburgh team into the elite of European football. Likewise, AEK were hauled back from the brink by a consortium headed by Demis Nikolaidis, who got the benefit of a useful court decision which saw most of the debt written off.

As at Tynecastle, the new regime inspired record attendances and uptake of season tickets - in the first season under Nikolaidis, AEK played to an average gate of 27,000, the highest in the Greek First Division. This upsurge was accommodated by a move to the newly renovated Olympic Stadium.

In the same fashion, Hearts will play this evening at neighbouring Murrayfield, partly in order to accommodate a crowd considerably in excess of Tynecastle's limit of 17,500. More than 30,000 are expected to make their way to the home of Scottish rugby, and although there has been some comment about the difference in atmosphere between the two stadiums - the advantage of Tynecastle's constricted gladiatorial arena is certainly not matched by Murrayfield's aloof distance from the pitch - the Hearts players are phlegmatic about the contrast.

"I enjoy Murrayfield," said right-back Robbie Neilson, whose solid form has seen him called up for next week's Scotland squad gathering ahead of the European Championship campaign. "It's a nice big pitch and we've managed to attract good crowds there. But a football pitch is a football pitch and you have to do the job, wherever you play.

"This is the best club competition in the world and there are some players here who, over the years, may not have thought they could get to this standard. Now we have two games to produce the type of performances that can take us through.

"I think it is important that we have had European games already this season because usually when we come back from pre-season it takes four or five games to get right up to speed and full fitness, but we had to be firing on all cylinders right away.

"This is probably one of the biggest games in our history. Financially it would be massive to progress and for the players and the fans it would increase our profile. But AEK are a good quality team and our priority is to keep a clean sheet."

AEK will be testing opposition. They have, typically for a Greek side, a tough constitution garnished with sufficient technical skill to be formidable, especially on their own unwelcoming territory - hence the importance to Hearts of conceding nothing tonight.

Although the official line is that Paul Hartley might make the Hearts squad, the reality is that he will not be fit to add his considerable presence to an intriguing encounter in the west end of Edinburgh.

Team details (probable)

Hearts: Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Berra, Fyssas; Mikoliunas, Aguiar, Brellier, McCann; Pospisil, Bednar.
AEK Athens: Sorrentino; Pautasso, Dellas, Cirillo, Georgeas; Lagos, Emerson, Ivic, Julio Cesar; Kapetanos, Lyberopoulos.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk