Which team will extend their unbeaten streak?

It is already clear that four Austrian clubs will be represented in the main draw of this season’s European competitions. For Rapid Vienna, the next two Thursdays will determine whether they will be in the group stage of the Europa League or the Conference League. Despite the extremely promising start to the season so far, the Green-Whites are only the underdogs in the play-offs. This is also underlined by the high odds between Braga and Rapid Vienna for the Rapid team to progress

The favorites are therefore the northern Portuguese side, who were still in the top flight last season and performed well there, especially in their own stadium. The Braga vs Rapid Vienna prediction is also influenced by the fact that the “os Arcebispos” have had a new coach on the sidelines for just under two weeks, who has already shaped a successful era at the Red & Whites and has breathed new confidence into the players in a very short space of time

As we are also far from underestimating Hütteldorfer, who are still unbeaten after eight competitive matches, we can expect an intense and exciting match late on Thursday evening at 9:30pm Central European Summer Time. As there is also a lot at stake and the visitors from Austria will certainly be keen to stabilize their defence first, the odds on under-goals are interesting ahead of the first leg between Braga and Rapid Vienna

Braga – Statistics & current form

Although SC Braga’s competitive season has not even lasted a month, there is already a lot to report. After just four competitive matches, coach Daniel Sousa, who was only appointed in the summer, had to resign. Despite a decent haul of two wins and two draws from four matches, internal disputes with the management were probably the 39-year-old’s undoing.

His successor is an old acquaintance in the north of Portugal, as Braga-born Carlos Carvalhal not only played for his favorite club, but has now also been promoted to the role of head coach for the third time. The soccer coach, who was at the helm of Olympiakos Piraeus until February 2024 and laid the foundations for their Conference League triumph at international level, has already led SC Braga into the Europa League group stage twice. The same is set to happen again this time around

Third win in the third game under Carvalhal?

At any rate, Carvalhal’s tenure got off to a positive start. In the second leg of the third qualifying round, a 2:1 win at Servette Geneva saw the team progress. The first league game last weekend at Boavista Porto was also won 1:0. In total, the Red & Whites have four wins and two draws after six competitive matches. Particularly noteworthy is the functioning defense, which has only conceded two goals in this period.

As coach Carvalhal generally places great value on disciplined work against the ball and Simone Banza, the designated top striker, is in danger of being ruled out on Thursday evening due to persistent knee problems, we are confident that a prediction of under 2.5 goals between Braga and Rapid Vienna could go through. Those who opt for a combination of the double chance 1X with the Under 3.5 will find a 1.78.

Predicted line-up for Braga:
Matheus – Marín, Arrey-Mbi, Niakaté, Gómez – Carvalho, Moutinho, Zalazar – Bruma, El Ouazzani, Horta

Rapid Vienna – Statistics & current form

It’s fun to go to Rapid Vienna matches as a fan again. After a disappointing last season, which almost ended with a triumph in the ÖFB Cup, the Hütteldorfer have come out of the summer break in fine form. Coach Robert Klauß was able to act according to his preferences on the transfer market for the first time and seems to have found a good mix of new additions and old squad players.

At least that’s what the results so far suggest. The Green-Whites have not lost any of their eight competitive matches to date. In the Austrian Bundesliga, they are the closest rivals to leaders RB Salzburg with seven out of a possible nine points and in the European Cup, the first two hurdles on the way to the main round of the Europa League were also overcome with flying colors

The Rapid defense is in good early form

While they won 2:1 and 6:1 against the Polish second division team in the second qualifying round, the two matches against Trabzonspor were much more competitive. The 1:0 away win on the Black Sea coast was followed by a deserved 2:0 triumph at the Allianz Stadium. These two results make it clear that the German coach on the Hütteldorfer bench also sees a compact defense as the foundation for success.

In six of the eight matches involving SK, a bet on the under 2.5 would have paid off. Niklas Hedl has already kept a clean sheet in the Rapidler box five times. As the capital side could also live very well with a draw in Portugal on Thursday evening, we expect a concentrated performance from the visiting team and a rather low-risk approach. In addition to the under 2.5 odds already mentioned, you can also consider the Braga vs Rapid Vienna odds of 0-0 after 45 minutes

Predicted Rapid Vienna line-up:
Hedl – Auer, Raux-Yao, Cvetkovic, Oswald – Jansson, Grgic, Sangaré, Seidl – Burgstaller, Beljo

Braga – Rapid Vienna head-to-head comparison / H2H result

The two clubs face each other for the first time in an official European Cup match. For SC Braga, it is even the very first meeting with an Austrian opponent. Rapid Vienna, meanwhile, have met Portuguese clubs eight times. In addition to one win and two draws, there were five defeats

Braga – Rapid Vienna betting tip

With LASK and Rapid Vienna, two Austrian teams have the opportunity to qualify for the main round of the Europa League. While the team from Linz have a doable opponent in FCSB from Romania, the task is much tougher for Rapid. On paper, betting odds of 2.60 are being offered for the Green-Whites to advance ahead of the first leg between Braga and Rapid Vienna.

In order to maintain their chances of reaching the main draw of Europe’s second most important club competition, it would of course be particularly important for coach Robert Klauß’ team to achieve a good result in the north of Portugal. The aim must be to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible from a compact defense and, with their confidence boosted, to make pinpricks in offense. Both seem possible in any case, as SK are still unbeaten after eight competitive matches and have only conceded three goals

However, the northern Portuguese side also have a good defense and have yet to suffer a defeat this season, winning twice under their new coach Carlos Carvalhal. Both teams have a lot of respect for each other, which is why we expect a low-scoring encounter on Thursday evening. Our selection between Braga and Rapid Vienna therefore falls on the bet that a maximum of two goals will be scored in 90 minutes. Sunmaker is offering a whopping 2.16 for the under 2.5, which is worth a stake of five units