Heart of Midlothian begin their European campaign in Czechia this evening as they take on Viktoria Plzen at the Doosan Arena. Not only will Steven Naismith's men be looking to take a positive result back to Tynecastle Park but they are also searching for their first win of the season.

The last two games have been hugely disappointing in terms of result and performance for large periods. A lot of the post-match discussion has focused on the personnel and formation changes.

There will be plenty to consider going into the match in Czechia, namely the opposition and the strengths of the opposition. Tom Irving outlined how Viktoria Plzen play in his scout report on the Czechs.

Tom wrote: "In the opposition half they have one main aim: get the ball into the box for the forwards to attack. Usually, they do this by working the ball out wide and finding an early ball into the box. They vary their crosses, going for cut-backs, floated and whipped crosses, and balls played on the ground to feet in the box.

"The main target of most of these balls is the imposing figure of Daniel Vasulin. He’s a huge threat in the box, is quick and aggressive, uses his body well, and has fantastic anticipation for where the ball is going to be."

That piece of insight and analysis shapes how I believe Hearts will line up.

There was a lot of criticism of the back three when fielded against Dundee. And the back three in general. Yet, as I wrote in the aftermath, there are certain games where the back three has its merit. Thursday's night's play-off tie is one of those. 

Firstly, if Plzen play two up front it provides a spare centre-back. In addition, having an extra centre-back to defend against the threat from wide would be hugely beneficial.

Joel's predicted XIJoel's predicted XI (Image: BeFunky)

The news that Frankie Kent is in line to return from a toe infection is a huge boost. Not only is he one of the best players in the side - perhaps the best - when it comes to aerial duels, he is a leader and organiser at the back. 

Who flanks Kent? An issue recently has been the lack of natural ball-carrying or ball-playing wide centre-backs. However, it could be a night to go back to a relatively tried and trusted with the pace of Kye Rowles and the reliability of Stephen Kingsley.

James Penrice and Gerald Taylor are the natural wing-back options while Cammy Devlin and Malachi Boateng provide a mixture of steel and energy at the base of the midfield.

The make-up of the front three is predicated on where Plzen can be exploited. They can be guilty of leaving space behind their full-backs and are susceptible to the counter-attack. Therefore the pace and energy of Alan Forrest and Kenneth Vargas either side of Lawrence Shankland could give Hearts the best chance to take advantage of that space.

Now, there are drawbacks to the back five. The big concern is the wing-backs being pushed too deep and it becomes a back five for large periods and Hearts can't get out. In turn, it leads to constant Plzen pressure.

Yet, in this writer's view, the 3-4-3 represents the best chance of success.