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Rapid Vienna entertain Vitesse at Allianz Stadion on Thursday as the UEFA Europa Conference League returns this week for the knockout stage playoffs.
The hosts finished third in their Europa League group stage campaign behind West Ham United and Dinamo Zagreb in Group H. Vitesse finished second in Group G of the Conference League to set up a date against the Austrian side.
Rapid Vienna have lost two games in a row heading into this first-leg tie while The Dutch side have faced a loss in their last four games across all competitions.
Rapid Vienna vs Vitesse Head-to-Head
This will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides across all competitions.
Rapid Vienna form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-W-D
Vitesse form guide (all competitions): L-L-L-L-W
Rapid Vienna vs Vitesse Team News
Rapid Vienna
There's a lengthy list of absentees for the home side heading into this game. Leo Greiml is a long-term absentee with a cruciate ligament injury. Lion Schuster is also expected to miss the game on account of an unknown injury.
Marko Dijakovic suffered a thigh injury earlier this month and is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks. Club captain Maximilian Hofmann is not feeling 100% heading into the game as he continues to nurse a calf injury.
Christopher Dibon's involvement here remains doubtful as he did not feature in the crucial league game against RB Salzburg on Saturday.
Injured: Maximilian Hofmann, Leo Greiml, Marko Dijakovic
Doubtful: Lion Schuster, Christopher Dibon
Suspended: None
Vitesse
Enzo Cornelisse and Hilary Gong are the two absentees for the visiting side here. The nature of their injuries is unknown but they missed the game against PSV in the league on Sunday.
Midfielder Matúš Bero will serve a one-game suspension on account of the accumulation of yellow cards.
Injured: Enzo Cornelisse, Hilary Gong
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Matúš Bero
Rapid Vienna vs Vitesse Predicted XI
Rapid Vienna Predicted XI (4-4-2): Paul Gartler (GK); Emanuel Aiwu, Kevin Wimmer, Martin Moormann, Jonas Antonius Auer; Filip Stojković, Dejan Petrović, Christoph Knasmüllner, Marco Grüll; Oliver Strunz, Koya Kitagawa
Vitesse Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Jeroen Houwen (GK); Danilho Doekhi, Alois Oroz, Riechedly Bazoer; Maximilian Wittek, Sondre Tronstad, Toni Domgjoni, Eli Dasa; Yann Gboho, Daan Huisman; Adrian Grbic
Rapid Vienna vs Vitesse Prediction
Vitesse have suffered back-to-back 5-0 losses heading into the game. Rapid Vienna's last two losses, on the other hand, have been close, ending with a scoreline of 2-1.
While there's nothing much to separate the two sides on paper, with home advantage on their side, the hosts should come out on top here.
Prediction: Rapid Vienna 2-1 Vitesse
