Heart of Midlothian now know who they will host and where they will travel to in this season’s revamped Conference League.

Friday’s draw in Monaco saw Steven Naismith’s men handed a set of fixtures that could have been much worse.

Two teams that fellow Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock competed with in their recent European adventures make up two of the six opponents.

Hearts will travel to Copenhagen who knocked Killie out in Thursday’s play-offs – avoiding other heavyweights from pot 1 such as Chelsea and Fiorentina. They will also go to Belgium to take on Cercle Brugge who defeated Derek McInnes’s side in the Europa League qualifiers.

The Jambos have also been drawn away to Belarusian outfit Dinamo Minsk, although that match will take place in Azerbaijan behind closed doors.

At Tynecastle, Hearts will host Moldovan champions Petrocub, Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus and German newcomers Heidenheim.

So what do we need to know about Hearts’ upcoming Conference League away opponents?

FC Copenhagen

Fact file

Founded: 1992

Manager: Jacob Neestrup – the 36-year-old has been manager of Copenhagen since 2022. The former midfielder has won the Danish Superliga and Danish Cup as a player and as a manager with the club – despite retiring from playing at the age of 23 due to injury. 

Stadium: Parken Stadium (capacity 38,000).

Nearest airport: Copenhagen.

Last season: Third in the Danish Superliga, Danish Cup quarter-finals, last 16 of the Champions League.

Who are Copenhagen?

They may have been established in 1992 but their history stretches back more than 100 years. Copenhagen’s set-up is seen as unique, a ‘superstructure’ that represents two separate clubs. The merger coincided with the Danes’ success at that year’s European Championships as well as the redevelopment of the Parken Stadium.

Copenhagen are serial winners of the Danish Superliga, though only managed third last season. They are also a familiar name on the European scene and last season qualified from a Champions League Group containing Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Manchester United before a last-16 defeat to Manchester City.

What can fans expect?

Reading the above, you could be forgiven for thinking ‘a pumping’, but while Copenhagen were raising eyebrows on the continent, their grip on their Danish title defence slipped and they finished three points behind rivals Brondby, another one behind eventual champions Midtjylland.

That form has continued into this season, albeit at a very early stage, and Neestrup reacted angrily to a recent defeat to Nordsjaelland before a weekend win over Brondby lifted them two places into third.

In last Thursday’s play-off, they saw off Kilmarnock 3-1 on aggregate, but took a 2-0 lead into the second leg, aided by a dubious penalty, and initially fell behind at Rugby Park.

Neestrup has transformed the club's fortunes since taking the top job and lines up his side in an adaptable 4-3-3 with a mixture of youth and experience and places a lot of stock in his talented coaching staff.

Key players

Former Celtic star Mohamed Elyounoussi will be the first name that stands out in their 4-3-3. The attacker won the treble in Scotland and has been capped dozens of times for Norway. Thomas Delaney is another notable name. The seasoned defensive midfielder has been capped 81 times for Denmark and counts Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund among his former clubs.

Orri Oskarsson would have been one to be wary of but he sealed a transfer-deadline-day move to Real Sociedad. Earlier in the window, the Icelandic striker had been under consideration by Manchester City as a potential back-up to Erling Haaland.

Experienced Swedish midfielder Viktor Claesson and versatile Dutch defender Kevin Dijks are other players to keep an eye on.

Price of a pint 

It’s Scandavia, so expect to be paying up to £7! Maybe more.

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Cercle Brugge KSV

Fact file

Founded: 1899

Manager: Miron Muslic – like Neestrup, the Austrian is young coach who has been in charge since 2022. Muslic was assistant manager before taking the top job, which he also has in common with his Copenhagen counterpart. 

Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium (capacity 29,000).

Nearest airport: Brussels.

Last season: 5th in the Belgian Pro League, last 32 in the Belgian Cup.

Who are Cercle Brugge?

Cercle Brugge are one of Belgium’s oldest clubs and share a city and stadium with another elder statesman of the Belgian Pro League, Club Brugge. The fierce rivalry has its roots in late-19th-century social division – Club Brugge representing the working classes and Cercle a product of the bourgeoisie.

Club Brugge have been the most successful of the two post-war and Cercle have suffered several relegations in that time, most recently in 2015. That led to search for investment and the arrival of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2017 who is also owner and president of Monaco.

What can fans expect?

Since then, it’s very much a club that has been on the up – though steadily so, as opposed to just throwing money around. Last season they finished in the Belgian Pro League’s unique Championship Play-off for the first time, ending an absence from European football that stretched back to 2010.

They are a youthful side, the youngest in the Belgian Pro League, and play a high press. They look to win the ball back quickly before unleashing fast counter-attacks.

Oh, and it is a beautiful city and arguably the pick of the entire draw.

Key players

Kevin Denkey was the Pro League’s top scorer last season and was linked to Ipswich during the summer transfer window. The 23-year-old Togolese striker scored 28 times in all competitions and has three already this campaign. He is supported in attack by Thibo Somers. The 25-year-old has been at the club since he was eight and can play in any of the positions behind the striker. At the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Warleson is a fan favourite.

Price of a pint 

Somewhere in the region of £4-5.

FC Dinamo Minsk

Fact file

Founded: 1927

Manager: Vadim Skripchenko – capped 10 times for Belarus amid a playing career that saw him play for various clubs in his homeland with the odd foray into Russia. The 48-year-old’s managerial career has followed a similar path and he took over Dinamo Minsk in 2022.

Stadium:  Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium, Sumqayit. (Due to UEFA sanctions they will play in Azerbaijan and behind closed doors).

Last season: Belarusian Premier League champions, Belarusian Cup semi-final, Conference League first-round qualifier.

Who are Dinamo Minsk?

Eduard Malofeev, remember him? The former Hearts caretaker is a legendary figure of Dinamo Minsk and his seminal battle with Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s Dynamo Kyiv was the inspiration for a chapter in Jonathan Wilson’s Inverting The Pyramid.

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In 1982, Malofeev led Dinamo Minsk to the Soviet championship and the club have won the Belarusian Premier League eight times since the league's formation, including the most recent 2023 season. This time around, deep into the season, they lie in third – eight points behind leaders Neman Grodno with four games in hand.

What can fans expect?

Skripchenko is another coach who prefers to line up his side in a 4-3-3. While they remain in a strong position to win their domestic division, their European results have been more difficult to gauge. Dinamo have had a long European journey to get here, narrowly defeating Armenians Pyunik before a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Ludogorets of Bulgaria. That left them with a chance of Europa League qualification and they made difficult work of getting past Lincoln Red Imps from Gibraltar before two 1-0 defeats over two legs versus Belgian giants Anderlecht.

Key players

Dinamo Minsk have lost a number of the stars of their 2023 success. Last season’s top scorer in the Belarusian Premier League, Vladislav Morozov, has moved to Portugal; Montenegrin striker Dusan Bakic now plays for Omonia Nicosia – who Hearts will face at Tynecastle – and Artem Bykov is now in Greece. Between them, they scored 31 league goals last season. Daniil Zorin, who has since returned to Spartak Moscow following a loan, scored another seven.

They are continuing to share the goals around this season and Nigerian midfielder Raymond Adeola is their top league scorer so far this season, still at the club, with five.

They have since added the likes of Brazilian left-back Rai and Russian midfielder Igor Shkolik, who came through the youth ranks at Zenit and Dynamo Moscow.