Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian tycoon and the head of the French club Moncao, owns Cercle. With strikers Paris Brunner and Malamine Efekele now on loan from the principality, the Belgians profit from player deals. But because of his extremely particular, combative, and somewhat unorthodox approach for a Belgian top-flight team, Muslic is selective about who he signs.

McInnes discussed what Hearts and its supporters may anticipate this week in an interview with the Edinburgh News. “We naturally assumed that we would be playing a highly technical, possession-based Belgian team when the draw was made,” McInnes recalls. The complete antithesis of that is what they are. Their style is distinctly British. As a staff, we watched their final six games from the previous season to gain a sense of their style. Through the owner, we were able to swiftly determine that the club is owned by Russians and has strong ties to Monaco. A few of their players are on loan from Monaco.

“We dispatched a few scouts to the training facility to witness their preseason games, including one against Feyenoord. We watched them play Monaco as well. It was still in the same manner. All they want to do is play as fast as they can in the opposing half. They want to play with an extremely high and dedicated press 25 yards from your goal. They are straightforward and do target teams.

“The goalie never makes a move. The play is extremely narrow to battle for second balls, the defenders are up, and the ball is kicked. Their intensity puts a great deal of pressure on the opposition. Considering the size of the team, the previous season was very exceptional. Last season, Kévin Denkey scored 28 goals for them, which was a huge accomplishment. The fact that he is suspended is a significant plus for Hearts. That could affect them.

Cercle’s lucky charm, Denkey, will depart the team next month following an agreed-upon £14 million transfer to the US. “He is a top operator in the games we watched last season, but we were able to keep him fairly quiet in both games,” McInnes explains. “He is very strong and can score with both feet.” They reportedly demanded €20 million for him, and I believe he has since moved to Cincinnati in the MLS. Cercle doesn’t seem to have someone up front that is comparable to him. Following our games, they sold [Jesper] Daland to Cardiff. He was their fastest and most combative center-half, in my opinion.

“I believe it has had a significant impact on them, as all clubs of Cercle’s size struggle with domestic games and playing in Europe.” That is evident from their league form. After keeping a close eye on them, it appears that they have emphasised Europe and deployed their best players there, then been a little more erratic in their home team selections. They may have struggled because of this.

“They had no trouble the previous season. They deserved to be on this stage, just like Hearts. We believed that we could win even though it would be a difficult tie. In the first leg, we drew at home and had a few squandered chances. Towards the end, we exerted a great deal of pressure. We made a mistake that caused us to lose by a slim margin over there. Lewis Mayo and Liam Donnelly both attempted the same header, collided, and the ball went to their captain, [Thibo] Somers.

“Somers comes up with important goals for them. He did that last season, either playing in a No.10 role or playing narrowly off the right side. They do have a lot of pace and intensity about them at the top end of the pitch. They have a bit of know-how in the middle of the park. [Hannes] Van der Bruggen, the central midfielder, is very influential for them. He is like an old-school midfield player.

“However, they don’t really play through their midfield. They play 4-3-3 but they play it really narrow up front. Sometimes it’s four up front when their No.10 joins the striker. It’s a little bit like Hearts’ with two narrow wide players and somebody playing close to Lawrence Shankland, although not similar to Hearts in style of play. They are very direct, like a traditional British team.”

McInnes is confident Hearts can earn three Conference League points on Thursday which would effectively secure their place in the tournament’s knockout play-off round. He feels Neil Critchley’s side have the quality to achieve what would be their second away European win of the season. Central to doing so will be coping with the expected aerial bombardment.

“Hearts will need to defend a lot of balls into the box; a lot of throw-ins and set-plays,” he says. “If you stand up to that pressure and deal with it, then you can play through their press. Pace in attack is important for Hearts in this game because you can catch Cercle out. When they go all-in with their press, they leave so much grass behind them so you can do them on counter-attacks. Somebody like Kenneth Vargas might come into the thinking in that sense.

“Cercle aren’t the team they were last season and Denkey not playing takes a huge bit away from them. The atmosphere is good over there but it’s not super-intimidating. We took about 3,000 fans and it was a really good atmosphere from both sets of supporters. It’s not really intense. I think it’s something the players will enjoy. It’s a nice part of the world, a nice stadium and a nice trip for the fans.

“If Hearts can deal with the direct approach, win first headers and be secure by picking up second balls, it takes a lot away from what Cercle are. Domestically, against more technical teams, they can maybe impose their own style. If Hearts are brave enough to play out, they need to be really smart in their own defensive third because Cercle will come after you. You can break their press but you have to be switched on because they are geared for getting after teams.

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They can certainly be defeated by hearts. We thought Kilmarnock had lost out on a great chance. When we faced Cercle, the fourth-best team in Belgium, they were the seeded team. We had a lot of expectations. We weren’t exactly playing at our best, in my opinion, at that early point in the season when you have to maintain the energy. Players need eight to ten games to completely recover, and I don’t believe we were as intense as they were.

“I believe Hearts will fancy themselves, and I don’t think Cercle are as strong as they were. Winning over there will need a strong showing, but Hearts can yet win.