Trabzonspor's squad worth 7 times more than Hearts: the key talking points before the clash
Trabzonspor host Hearts at Papara Park tonight in the Conference League, with a squad-value gap of around €159 million between the two sides.
Having opened their UEFA Conference League campaign with a win, Trabzonspor host Scottish side Heart of Midlothian in the second round of the league phase. The Bordo-Mavililer will be aiming to keep their momentum going with a second victory when the sides meet at Papara Park tonight at 19.45. Trabzonspor finished the opening round third on 3 points with a +2 goal difference, and want to win in front of their own supporters to hold on to their place near the top. Hearts, third in the Scottish Premiership, will be looking for something from the trip to Trabzon after drawing their first game in the competition.
The difference in squad value between the two teams is striking. Trabzonspor's squad is valued at €184.30 million in total, while Hearts' stands at around €25.43 million. Amid a gulf of roughly €159 million, Trabzonspor's most valuable player is Franculino at €22 million, while Hearts' is Portuguese striker Cláudio Braga at €6 million.
Hearts have collected 16 points from 9 rounds of the Scottish Premiership, sitting third behind Celtic and Rangers. Under Belgian head coach Wouter Vrancken, they beat St. Mirren 5-0 in the league but were on the wrong end of a heavy 7-1 defeat away at Celtic in their most recent outing. In the first round of the Conference League, they were held 1-1 at home by Danish side Nordsjælland.
In attack, Hearts look to Cláudio Braga, who has contributed 3 goals and 2 assists in all competitions this season. Josh McPake is among their most productive forwards with 3 goals and 6 assists, while James Wilson, Calvin Miller and Laurent Mendy have 3 goals apiece.
Trabzonspor go into the Hearts game with significant absences. Ruslan Malinovskyi is out through a red-card suspension as well as a knee injury. Paul Onuachu, who is still nursing a thigh problem, and Arseniy Batagov, who has a muscle injury, will also miss out. Okay Yokuşlu, Umut Nayir, Metehan Mimaroğlu, Cihan Çanak and Ali Habeşoğlu are unavailable as they are not included in the UEFA squad. For the visitors, defenders Stuart Findlay and Oisin McEntee are sidelined through injury.
Trabzonspor and Hearts will meet in a competitive fixture for the first time in their history. The two clubs have done business before, however: Alim Öztürk in 2014 and Donis Avdijaj in 2020 both joined Hearts from Trabzonspor on free transfers.