Europa Conference League draw LIVE as Hearts prepare to discover their group stage fate

Hearts fans are eagerly waiting to find out who they will face in the Europa Conference League group stage after their Europa League Swiss miss.

Robbie Neilson's 10 men went out to FC Zurich following defeat at Tynecastle but they are now over that disappointment and looking ahead.

And there is plenty to look forward to ahead of the draw in Istanbul with some real big names joining them in the hat.

Hearts are in Pot 3 but there are clubs in the top two pots who wouldn't look out of place certainly in the Europa League but even the Champions League.

Villarreal, for example, were in the last four of UEFA's premier competition last season where they lost to eventual runners-up Liverpool.

There is also Italian outfit Fiorentina - a big name in Europe and defeated by Rangers in the last four of the UEFA Cup in 2008.

And what about West Ham United? A Battle of Britain would really get the juices flowing down Gorgie way and a similar tie to their clash with Liverpool a decade ago.

All will be revealed soon and you can follow it all right here in our LIVE blog.

It might be a little early to think about the competition's grand finale.

But some Hearts fans might be looking to the future already. And why not, eh?

The final will take place at Prague's Eden Arena on June 7 2023.

Hearts were just one hurdle away from a spot in the Europa League group stage.

But as we await the Europa Conference League draw, here are all the teams taking part in that competition.

The 2022/23 Europa League group stage is set! Most exciting group?#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/3o21aUbOXZ

Hearts could have been finding out their fate in the Europa League group stage instead. But Zurich took the spot.

And here is who they face in group.

GROUP A

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