Will Rapid Vienna strike back against Braga?

Rapid Vienna have already secured their place in the Conference League, but German head coach Robert Klauß’ side are still hoping to qualify for the Europa League group stage. However, the prospects are anything but rosy ahead of the upcoming second leg on Thursday evening. The Green-Whites are coming off the back of a 2-1 defeat in the first leg and therefore urgently need a win at their own Allianz Stadium to at least reach extra time. According to the betting odds between Rapid Vienna and Braga, however, the bet on the Portuguese side to advance is considered far more likely

The Rapid Vienna vs Braga prediction is also influenced by the fact that the home side suffered a heavy defeat in the Austrian Bundesliga at the weekend, losing twice recently after eight unbeaten competitive games in a row. The visitors from the north of Portugal, meanwhile, remain unbeaten and have won all four matches so far under their new coach.

However, it would be presumptuous to automatically conclude from this that Hütteldorfer have absolutely no chance on Thursday evening. After all, it should not be forgotten that Burgstaller and Co. were outnumbered for over 80 minutes the previous week and still managed to cause their opponents problems.

The Rapid Vienna vs Braga odds on the three-way market should therefore be treated with caution in all directions. Instead, it seems to be smarter to combine different approaches, for example with the Betway betting configurator.

Rapid Vienna – Statistics & current form

Until a week ago, Rapid Vienna had a virtually flawless season. The Hütteldorfer had confidently put Wisla Krakow and Trabzonspor in their place in the Europa League qualifiers, got off to a seven-point start from three matches in the Bundesliga and also easily cleared the first hurdle in the ÖFB Cup. Then came the fourth minute of the play-off first leg in Braga last Thursday, when Lukas Grgic was sent off with a red card after a hard foul and a VAR review.

Outnumbered, the Rapid team initially took the lead through Guido Burgstaller, but as the game wore on, the Portuguese side piled on the pressure and Braga managed to turn the match around and secure a 2:1 win. The effort put in, combined with the short recovery time after leaving southern Europe, ultimately led to a heavy 3-0 defeat at BW Linz at the weekend. Despite having more possession and a general statistical advantage, the Green-Whites defended too naively and conceded their first two defeats in the ninth and tenth competitive matches of the season

Has Rapid Vienna learned the right lessons from their first two defeats?

The aim now is to emerge stronger from this minor slump and throw everything into the balance to perhaps still secure a ticket for the Europa League group stage. Betano is currently offering 3.60 if a prediction between Rapid Vienna and Braga that the Austrians will progress comes true. The probability of occurrence is therefore estimated at less than 30%.

However, it should not go unmentioned in this context that the Klauß team has been particularly convincing in front of a home crowd to date. They have won all four competitive matches at the Allianz Stadium. Three of these four victories also included a clean sheet. In total, Sportklub Rapid have scored 11:1 goals. Admittedly, however, the starting position on Thursday evening is different to that of previous matches, as under pressure, a good balance of bold offensive actions and a stable defense is required. What’s more, the visitors have an advantage in terms of quality and international experience.

Predicted Rapid Vienna line-up:
Hedl; Bolla, Cvetkovic, Yao, Auer; Sangare, Schaub, Seidl, Burgstaller, Jansson; Beljo

Braga – Statistics & current form

Sporting Clube de Braga has long been a permanent fixture on the international stage. After the northern Portuguese side even made it to the Champions League group stage in the previous season, the Red & Whites are now hoping to secure a place in the Europa League main draw. The course was already set last week, although the players, fans and coaching team were not entirely satisfied with the final result in view of the long superiority and many chances created

Braga have yet to lose a competitive match in 2024/25

Despite this, the 2011 Europa League finalists extended their unbeaten run. Thanks to the 3:1 home win against Moreirense at the weekend, it is now eight competitive games without defeat this season. They have even won all four of their most recent matches. Carlos Carvalhal, who took over from the sacked Daniel Sousa in mid-August following allegations of disputes with the management team, has a perfect record of four wins in four games.

The defense in particular has settled at a very solid level under Carvalhal, who was born in northern Portugal and is now in his third spell at SC Braga. Four of the eight games mentioned above were played without conceding a goal. They have yet to concede more than one goal. With this in mind, we are once again inclined to consider the odds on under-goals between Rapid Vienna and Braga on Thursday. Especially in the first 45 minutes, we don’t expect a goal spectacle, but rather an intense feeling-out process without taking any risks.

As a potential goalscorer on the visitors’ side, however, we throw the name Rodrigo Zalazar into the discussion. The former Bundesliga player has already scored ten times this season, was involved in both goals in the first leg and also scored a brace in the league at the weekend. If Zalazar scores again on Thursday evening, betting odds of 4.75 at the top of the Bet365 app are on offer between Rapid Vienna and Braga.

Predicted line-up for Braga:
Matheus; Gomez, Arrey-Mbi, Bambu, Marin; Fernandes, Zalazar, Carvalho; R Horta, Martinez, El Ouazzani

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

We have already covered the first leg in detail. It was the first and only meeting between these two clubs at European level. Thanks to their 2-1 win at home on Thursday evening at the Allianz Stadium, a draw will be enough for SC Braga to book their place in the Europa League group stage.

Rapid Vienna – Braga tip

Despite being outnumbered for 80 minutes, Rapid Vienna kept their chances of progressing to the Europa League alive with a narrow 2-1 defeat in Braga. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Green-Whites absolutely need a win in front of their own fans on Thursday evening to at least force extra time. Their good home record gives them hope, as they have won all four of their previous competitive matches at the Allianz Stadium. In addition, they have only conceded one goal.

However, the starting position ahead of the second leg is different, as Hütteldorfer must play for victory, which could play into the hands of the visitors from northern Portugal. Braga are unbeaten in eight competitive matches and can also rely on a good defense. That’s exactly why we believe the Red & Whites will get the job done in the Austrian capital

In order to reconcile many eventualities, we’ll try our luck between Rapid Vienna and Braga with the bet that the visitors will get at least the draw they need and that a maximum of one goal will be scored in the first 45 minutes. For the X2 & Under 1.5 (1st half) a 2.05 is offered at Betway.