Hearts vs Sturm Graz prediction 28.07.2026 | Champions League
Hearts
Kick off:
Date:
SK Sturm Graz
1
1.90
X
3.85
2
3.35
Contents
- Competition: Champions League Qualifiers, 2nd Round, 2nd Leg
- Date: Tuesday, 28th July, 2026
- Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20:45 CEST
- Venue: Tynecastle Park (Edinburgh)
After a dominant 4:0 win for Sturm Graz over Hearts in the first leg of the Champions League Qualifiers 2nd Round, these teams will face off against each other in the second leg in Scotland. After such a big win, Hearts have almost no chance to advance and will need a miracle to achieve it. After the first leg, the odds on the Scottish side are around 15.0 and 17.0, while the odds on Sturm Graz are around 1.02.
Let's break down the game and find the best possible bet for this Champions League Qualifiers tie.
Hearts vs SK Sturm Graz Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
SK Sturm Graz
4 : 0
Hearts
Champions League
The first leg game is the only h2h game ever between these teams. Even though Sturm Graz won 4:0 in the first leg, the game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. Hearts had 67% ball possession and were equal at 1.96 xG each.
Hearts team overview
Hearts had a super interesting season behind them, as they came super close to winning the title and ending Celtic and Rangers' domination. They were at the top spot one round before the last game and needed only a draw from the last game against Celtic. Despite taking the lead, they eventually lost 3:1 and missed out on a historic opportunity.
Unfortunately for Hearts, the club, expectedly, lost some of their very important pieces after such a good season. Among others, coach Derek McInnes left the club to join Rangers and immediately brought Hearts' top goalscorer, Lawrence Shankland, and one of the best midfielders, Cammy Devlin. The defensive midfielder Beni Baningime left the club, and their best goalkeeper, Alexander Schwolow, will join Mainz only a couple of days after the Sturm Graz game. To be fair, they added a large number of players (12), but it will be interesting to see whether they are capable of replacing those who left.
After a 4:0 loss to Sturm Graz, coach Wouter Vrancken spoke to the media. He said the scoreline was too much and that they were killed by two set-piece plays. The coach added they need to be a lot more clinical and defend set pieces a lot better in order to compete at this level.
Last matches of Hearts
-
Raith Rovers
0 : 1
Hearts
Club Friendlies 3
-
SK Sturm Graz
4 : 0
Hearts
Champions League
-
Hearts
2 : 1
Rayo Vallecano
Club Friendlies 3
-
Arbroath
1 : 2
Hearts
Club Friendlies 3
-
Livingston
2 : 1
Hearts
Club Friendlies 3
Hearts lineup
Goalkeeper
-
25
Alexander Schwolow
Defenders
-
2
Christian Borchgrevink
-
64
Malachi Fagan-Walcott
-
5
Jamie McCart
-
18
Harry Milne
Midfielders
-
6
Oisin McEntee
-
16
Blair Spittal
-
10
Cláudio Braga
Forwards
-
7
Calvin Miller
-
11
Pierre Landry Kaboré
-
89
Alexandros Kyziridis
Sturm Graz team overview
Similarly to Hearts, Sturm Graz also missed the title last season by only two points! LASK eventually won the title and stopped Sturm Graz from winning their 6th league title and third in a row.
Over the offseason, the team did lose some important pieces, almost exclusively in the defensive line. Starting left full-back Emir Karic and two central defenders, Emanuel Aiwu and Dimitri Lavalee, left the club. However, the club reacted by adding several solid players, and on paper, this team seems at least as good as last season's.
After a 4:0 win over Hearts, coach Fabio Ingolitsch spoke to the media. He was delighted with the result, but did not want to get too carried away. The coach said the second-half substitutions eventually changed the game, but added there are still things to improve despite securing a big win.
Last matches of SK Sturm Graz
-
Seekirchen
0 : 3
SK Sturm Graz
Austrian Cup
-
SK Sturm Graz
4 : 0
Hearts
Champions League
-
SK Sturm Graz
1 : 0
Pogon Szczecin
Club Friendlies 3
-
SK Sturm Graz
5 : 1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Club Friendlies 3
-
SK Sturm Graz
4 : 1
Kalsdorf
Club Friendlies 3
SK Sturm Graz lineup
Goalkeeper
-
53
Daniil Khudyakov
Defenders
-
28
Jürgen Heil
-
5
Albert Vallci
-
2
Jeyland Mitchell
-
18
Emran Soglo
Midfielders
-
19
Simon Seidl
-
39
Luca Weinhandl
-
4
Jon Gorenc Stankovic
-
43
Jacob Peter Hödl
Forwards
-
17
Szymon Wlodarczyk
-
20
Seedy Jatta
Prediction
In the first leg, we saw a lot of chances for both sides, as the game finished with 1.96 xG for each team. Even though Hearts failed to score in that game, we believe they are a lot better side at home and should eventually score at least once. Moreover, with four conceded goals in the first leg, they pretty much have nothing to lose, and we believe they would attack from the very start, which should eventually lead them to score at least once or twice.
However, on the other hand, if they open too much, we have no doubt they will allow at least one goal after such a poor defensive performance in the first leg. Also, Sturm Graz have been really efficient in the offseason, scoring at least one goal in all six games, and they continued with 4 goals against Hearts and 3 against Seekirchen in the Cup.
Considering all the above, we believe that both teams to score bet is the safest option for this Champions League Qualifiers tie.
3 Reasons why both teams should score
- Both teams had 1.96 xG in the first leg
- Sturm Graz scored four goals in the first leg
- Last season, Hearts averaged 1.95 goals per game at home in the Premiership
Main prediction Hearts - SK Sturm Graz
Both Teams to Score
Best Odds:
Megapari
1.57
