Can Rapid hold on to their lead over time?
Once upon a time, Robert Klauß brought smiles to everyone’s faces with his legendary press conference as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. The soccer coach from the RB cosmos philosophized in front of the journalists present about a diametrically opposed six or a half-ten, putting those critics who had previously accused the young coach of lacking a match plan in their place.
The 39-year-old has since reformed somewhat, although this does not mean that he does not have a clear goal in mind with his current club from the Austrian capital. Coach Klauß will not be the only one hoping that the tip for a home win for Hütteldorfer will go through on Thursday evening between Rapid Vienna and Wisla Krakow. That would be the first step towards the group stage
A crowd of just under 20,000 at the Allianz Stadium will also want to help their Rapid team progress to the third qualifying round. The visitors’ block will also be well filled with around 2,000 fans, as the underdogs from Poland have by no means given up despite their 2-1 defeat at home the previous week. In any case, it seems that the most popular bookmakers are placing too much emphasis on the fact that Krakow are currently only active in Poland’s second division when distributing Rapid Vienna vs Wisla Krakow odds. The red, white and blue are definitely not a typical second division team
As the prediction of an isolated home win against Wisla Krakow is of no value ahead of Rapid Vienna’s eagerly awaited second leg, it might be smart to bet on the number of goals. We don’t necessarily expect an offensive festival on Thursday evening. You can find a huge selection of over/under odds at Betano, among others. As a new customer, you have the opportunity to claim a welcome bonus with this provider. Betano also offers a 20 euro free bet, which you can claim when registering with the exclusive betting base code
Rapid Vienna – Statistics & current form
Robert Klauß has already suffered a few bitter defeats in his relatively young coaching career. One of these was certainly the 1:2 defeat exactly three months ago in the ÖFB Cup final against double winners Sturm Graz. Before his time as a professional coach, Klauß, who was still working at RB at the time, was also defeated by a certain Stefan Raab in the TV show “Schlag den Raab”. Back then, the Brandenburg native left 500,000 euros on the table. A surprising exit in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League would certainly join the ranks of these painful disappointments.
However, it would take a real collapse for his Hütteldorfer to lose their chance of progressing to the third round on Thursday evening, as the Green-Whites had already gone one better a week ago, winning 2:1 in Krakow. At least as significant as the result was the dominance that SK displayed over long stretches.
Despite being outnumbered, the Austrians added a second goal and can therefore already afford a draw in the second leg. If you want to bet exactly that there will be no winner at the Allianz Stadium after 90 minutes, you can play for the X between Rapid Vienna and Wisla Krakow at Oddset’s top odds of 5.25.
Does Rapid only jump as high as a good horse…?
Another approach would be to focus on a bet on rather few goals in the course of the match. The reasons for this are obvious. For example, the Whites struggled in the first round of the cup against Neusiedl at the weekend and only narrowly won 2:0. However, at least their defensive stability is very good. Even against a top team like AC Milan, they managed a strong 1:1 draw in preparation. Wisla Krakow will therefore have problems creating top-class chances, especially as Rapid don’t necessarily have to take risks
Although coach Klauß announced in the press conference for this game that his team would play to win in order to put on a show for the fans, advancing to the third round is the top priority. Apart from that, a tough match against Sturm Graz awaits on the first matchday of the Austrian Bundesliga this weekend
If Hütteldorf can save energy, they will do so both in terms of personnel and their footballing approach. As a result, the under-goals prediction is once again gaining in importance ahead of the clash between Rapid Vienna and Wisla Krakow. It is also conceivable to combine the Under 1.5 (1st half) with the Under 3.5 after 90 minutes in order to obtain even more attractive overall odds.
Predicted line-up of Rapid Vienna:
No information available
Wisla Krakow – stats & current form
As mentioned in the introduction, Wisla Krakow is no ordinary second division team. Founded in 1906, the club has a glorious past behind it, winning the championship 13 times and adding five more cup victories. However, the red, white and blue are a long way from the successes of the past. Although they won the Polish Cup once again in 2023/24, the bitter reality is that Wisla are currently only active in the second division. Even more important than surviving one or two qualifying rounds in the European Cup is therefore undoubtedly promotion back to the Ekstraklasa.
In this respect, the team did not get off to a particularly good start last weekend. Coach Kazimierz Moskal’s team had to settle for a goalless draw against Polonia Warsaw. Incidentally, Moskal has only been in charge since this summer, after his Spanish predecessor was sacked despite the cup success. The demands in the Małopolska voivodeship are immense. The hope that the odds of the underdog advancing in the second leg between Rapid Vienna and Wisla Krakow on Thursday evening will come true is vanishingly small
Can Wisla Krakow sniff round three again?
The fact that the Poles have scored at least one goal in all three European Cup matches so far is encouraging. However, they have never been in the position they are currently in. In other words, the pressure is completely different against an opponent who can advance to the next round with a draw. Wisla Krakow, led by captain and goalscorer Rodado, must find a good balance between a compact defense and taking risks in the final third.
This certainly includes not playing to win right from the start, but starting the match with the necessary composure in front of almost 20,000 spectators. For this reason, among others, we can well imagine extending the indicated under bets to the first half. For example, if you want to bet on a goalless first half, you can more than triple your stake at Crazybuzzer.
Predicted line-up of Wisla Krakow:
No information available
Rapid Vienna – Wisla Krakow head-to-head comparison / H2H record
There have already been several Polish-Austrian duels in European Cup history. However, the game between Rapid Vienna and Wisla Krakow was on the agenda for the first time in the previous week. Isak Jansson put Rapid ahead before the break. Matthias Seidl increased the lead to 2:0 after 53 minutes. By this point, the Whites were only ten men on the pitch. Bendegúz Bolla had done his team a disservice and was sent off after 45 minutes. Although Marc Carbó scored the final goal to make it 1-2, SK go into the second leg at the Allianz Stadium on Thursday evening in a great position
Rapid Vienna – Wisla Krakow tip
Rapid Vienna would love to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League this season. However, there is still a long way to go. First of all, the Polish second division team Wisla Krakow must be defeated in the second qualifying round. The chances are very good, because after the 2:1 first-leg win, a draw at home is enough for the Green-Whites to secure promotion. We have no major doubts about the favorites advancing.
Nevertheless, we are not a fan of betting on a home win. Rapid don’t have to win and, if in doubt, will want to conserve their strength for the upcoming tasks. Wisla Krakow do not necessarily have the means to break down Hütteldorfer’s good defense. As a result, we think a draw after 90 minutes is quite possible. The handicap (+1.5) in favor of the Poles is also included in our top tip table
In our opinion, the most interesting bet is the Rapid Vienna vs Wisla Krakow betting tip on few goals during the match. We have combined the Under 1.5 (1st half) with the Under 3.5 after regular time and get a solid 1.93 in the Betano app. We choose four units as the stake.