Rapid Vienna are set to welcome Djurgardens IF to the Allianz Stadion on Thursday evening for the second leg of their quarter-final matchup in the Conference League.
The hosts hold a 1-0 lead heading into Thursday's clash having secured the victory in Sweden, leaving the visitors seeking to overturn that deficit.
Match preview
Rapid Vienna take a narrow 1-0 advantage into Thursday's second-leg clash, courtesy of a Hampus Finndell own goal in last week's first leg matchup, putting the Green and Whites in a favourable position as they return to their home ground.
While Robert Klauss's side have faced difficulties at times this season, they have been formidable when playing at the Allianz Stadion, suffering only three league defeats and remaining undefeated at home in Europe.
The 1-0 first-leg victory could be a turning point for the Green and Whites, breaking a streak of back-to-back league defeats that threatened to see them drop out of the race for European qualification in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Rapid Vienna were able to follow their quarter-final victory with a 2-0 triumph over Austria Wien, keeping the Green and Whites within three points of fourth-placed Wolfsberger AC and ensuring their positive momentum carried into this second leg.
Djurgardens IF will be heading into this one desperate for a much-needed victory, with Jarnkaminerna having recorded only one win in their last four matches since kicking off the new Swedish Allsvenskan season.
Thursday's visitors have won one and lost two of their first three league matches, while they head into this one with back-to-back losses, including their 1-0 first leg loss.
While they are behind heading to the Allianz Stadion, Jani Honkavaara's side were in control for much of the first-leg meeting, something they will aim to draw confidence from and replicate on Thursday.
However, goals have been hard to come by for Djurgardens since losing last season's top scorer Deniz Hummet to Gamba Osaka in March, and they have managed only one goal in their last four matches.
Team News
Rapid Vienna will be without the services of Jakob Scholler, Nenad Cvetkovic, Nikolaus Wurmbrand and Tobias Borkeeiet for Thursday's match due to ongoing injury issues.
Dion Drena Beljo is Rapid Vienna's top scorer in both the league and Conference League, and the hosts will be looking for the striker to make the difference in this one.
As for Djurgardens, Malkolm Safqvist, Patric Aslund, Piotr Johansson and Rasmus Schuller are all unavailable for selection due to injury problems.
Tokmac Nguen has been the starting striker since Hummet's departure, and the forward should start on Thursday having missed out on the first leg clash.
Rapid Vienna possible starting lineup:
Hedl; Bolla, Ahoussou, Raux-Yao; Schaub, Amane, Grgic, Oswald; Kara, Beljo, Jansson
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Manojlovic; Stahl, Larsson, Danielson, Kosugi; Ekdal, Siltanen, Gulliksen; Haarala, Nguen, Sawo
We say: Rapid Vienna 2-0 Djurgardens IF
Both teams may be having difficulties in the league, but Rapid Vienna have been formidable at home throughout this season, and we expect them to secure the victory on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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