Yesterday, we brought you the essential information needed for Heart of Midlothian’s upcoming trips in the Conference League.

Now it is time for the lowdown on who will be visiting Tynecastle in the newly reformatted tournament. There may not be new places for Hearts fans to visit when Heidenheim, Omonia and Petrocub get to take in what Gorgie has to offer, but that doesn’t make their stories any less intriguing.

From a Bundesliga club that we had not heard of before to newly crowned Moldovan champions that broke an eight-year dominance and one of the giants of Cypriot football who now have a splinter club in the top flight with them, here are Hearts’ home Conference League opponents.

1. FC Heidenheim

Fact file

Founded: 1846

Manager: Frank Schmidt – a former defender who ended his playing days at his hometown club before taking over as manager in 2007. Since then, Heidenheim have been promoted through several tiers, culminating last season in qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history. Schmidt is the longest-serving manager for a single club in German history. He also starred in the 2013 film Trainer!.

Last season: 8th in the Bundesliga, German Cup second round.

Who are Heidenheim?

Under the name Heidenheimer Sportbund, the club dates back to 1846. In 2007, coincidentally when Schmidt took charge, the football club broke away from the rest of the sports groups and rebranded as FC Heidenheim.

Hailing from the small town of the same name, situated between Stuttgart and Munich, the club has undergone a radical transformation since. Four promotions later and Schmidt has led Heidenheim to an eighth-placed finish on their debut Bundesliga season, and European qualification to boot. All with the smallest budget in the division.

What can fans expect?

As often happens with over-performing teams, it has been ripped apart. For their Bundesliga preview for this season, The Athletic said Heidenheim had the worst transfer window in the German top flight. Striker Tim Kleindienst and set-piece specialist Jan-Niklas Beste have been sold while Eren Dincki returned to Werder Bremen after his loan. They were responsible for 60 per cent of Heidenheim’s league goals last season.

That said, they are currently top of the Bundesliga after two matches, scoring six times and yet to concede and have won five from five in all competitions. Schmidt’s success is based on out-working the opposition and creating a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

Key players

Lennard Maloney is a microcosm of that style: their man in the centre of the park who thrives doing the dirty work. The American is also the club’s first-ever international cap. Shot-stopper Kevin Muller has been with Heidenheim since 2015 and, like the club, had an excellent debut Bundesliga season. As did towering centre-back, and captain, Patrick Mainka.

Summer signing Paul Wanner has scored in Heidenheim’s last three games after the attacking midfielder moved on loan from Bayern Munich. Fellow new boys Leo Scienza and Maximilian Breunig, both forwards, are also off the mark for their new club.

AC Omonia Nicosia

Fact file

Founded: 1948

Manager: Valdas Dambrauskas – the 47-year-old Lithuanian wasn’t a professional footballer and made his way up through the coaching ranks, starting off in some renowned English academies. First-team jobs in his homeland eventually followed, as did five major trophies with Zalgiris Vilnius. He has since won the cup in Latvia, the league in Bulgaria and ended Hajduk Split’s nine-year wait for a domestic trophy in Croatia.

Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon was in charge of Omonia for a short spell in 2022, though still managed a cup win and a couple of decent showings in Europe.

Last season: 5th in the Cypriot First Division, Cypriot Cup runners-up, Conference League second-round qualifier.

Who are Omonia Nicosia?

Omonia emerged partly as a group of athletes exiled from APOEL Nicosia – who have gone on to become their fierce rivals – due to their left-leaning views. All this was taking place in the shadow of the Greek Civil War and, therefore, Omonia represented the communist resistance that opposed the fascist Greek government of the time.

Omonia are historically one of the big dogs of Cypriot football, winning the title 15 times between the 1970s and early-90s. The rise of other clubs in Cyprus and financial problems in the years since mean the club have only won the title four times since, most recently in 2021. In 2018, a group of Onomia ultras formed the breakaway club PAC Onomia 29 May, named after the date of their formation, due to a dispute over club ownership. They have since risen through the divisions, taking their place in the top flight this season.

What can fans expect?

Quite the collection of passports. As well as Cypriot nationals, the Omonia team has players from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Cabo Verde, Morocco and Cameroon, as well as stars from Israel, Brazil, Greece, Sweden, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary and Ukraine.

Dambrauskas is a keen chess player and he likes to be the player who takes control and this extends to his approach to football. He prefers a back four, though preferred a three earlier in his career, and wants his teams to be dynamic while carrying out set-out patterns of play.

Omonia are currently top of the Cypriot First Division on goal difference after two matches, scoring three times in each game.

Key players

Winger Willy Semedo was Omonia’s top league goalscorer last season with 12. This season, striker Mariusz Stepinski has six goals in seven matches in all competition and their defence now includes former Rangers centre-back Filip Helander after he signed in the summer. Goalkeeper Fabiano is somewhat of a penalty-saving specialist. The 36-year-old Brazilian joined from Porto in 2019 and a year later he saved two penalties versus Crvena Zvezda that qualified Omonia for the group stages of European football for the first time in their history.

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FC Petrocub Hincesti

Fact file

Founded: 1999

Manager: Andrei Martin – the 50-year-old spent the vast majority of his playing days in Moldova, save for a sojourn to Kazakhstan. His coaching career has seen him go abroad much more often, with spells as an assistant in Russia, Azerbaijan and Romania. He has also been second in charge in the Moldovan national set-up under three different managers. Martin took over at Petrocub last year before guiding them to a domestic double, breaking the dominance of Sheriff Tiraspol.

Last season: Moldovan Super Liga champions, Moldovan Cup winners, Conference League second-round qualifier.

Who are Petrocub?

Based in the city of Hincesti, 18 miles west of the Moldovan capital Chisinau, Petrocub have undergone many name changes in their near-25-year existence. Since their most recent promotion to the Moldovan top flight, there has been steady progress. They finished eighth that season and two places higher in 2016/17 before three consecutive third-placed finishes.

After finishing as runners-up three times between 2021 and 2023, last season they finally edged out Sheriff – who had won the previous eight – to take their first ever Super Liga title. For good measure, Martin added the Moldovan Cup to the trophy cabinet.

Their title push was aided by investment at the start of the year through an unnamed company. It saw Ghanaian Nana Yaw Amponsah installed as president. Amponsah was previously the CEO at Asante Kotoko in his homeland.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Ghana and a Master’s in Sports Law and Practices from Leicester De Montfort University.

What can fans expect?

Petrocub are currently fourth in the eight-team Moldovan Super Liga with seven points from their first four games – though they do have a game in hand over the teams above them and have had a busy European qualification schedule.

After nudging past Ordabasy Shymkent of Kazakhstan in Champions League qualification, they were defeated by APOEL Nicosia 2-1 on aggregate. Petrofac then beat TNS of Wales by a solitary, deflected goal over two legs in the Europa League before meeting their match in Ludogorets, losing 6-1 on aggregate.

Their domestic formations aren’t as easy to track down, but during their European run so far, Martin has lined up Petrocub in a 3-4-3 formation. One thing than does stand out from their domestic form last season is their solid rearguard after the club notched 14 clean sheets over 24 league matches.

Key players

Goalkeeper Silviu Șmalenea kept nine shutouts in the 13 league matches he played in and experienced defensive duo Victor Mudrc and Sergiu Platica are part of the national set-up. As is the latter’s older brother and midfielder-cum-striker Mihai Platica. Uncapped 23-year-old Dan Puscas makes up the Petrocub quartet to be named in the squad for the upcoming Nations League matches versus Malta and San Marino.

Mihai Latica was the club’s top scorer last season with 15. Skipper Vladimir Ambros led the line and scored 12. After that, seven different players chipped in with between four and six goals each – including Dublin-born winger Nicky Clescenco.