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Rapid Wien take on Anorthosis Famagusta in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie on Thursday.
Rapid Wien are coming off a 1-1 away draw against LASK in the Austrian Bundesliga. Taxiarchis Fountas put Wien ahead in the eighth minute, but Alexander Schmidt's 79th-minute equalizer was enough for the hosts to earn a well-fought draw.
Rapid Wien lost to Sparta Prague 3-2 on aggregate in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. As a result, they find themselves in the Europa League qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Anorthosis Famagusta won their last game 4-1 against PAEEK. Their league campaign hasn't begun yet.
Rapid Wien vs Anorthosis Famagusta Head-to-Head
The two sides have played two games against each other. Rapid Wien and Anorthosis each have a win to their names.
The last meeting between Rapid Wien and Anorthosis ended in a 3-1 win for the Austrian outfit.
Rapid Wien form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-L-D
Anorthosis Famagusta form guide (club friendlies): W-W-W-W
Rapid Wien vs Anorthosis Famagusta Team News
Rapid Wien
Wien are expected to field a much-changed lineup to the one that played against LASK over the weekend. Husein Balic could make way for Mamoudou Karamko in the starting lineup.
Rapid Wien have not reported any injuries ahead of the clash.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Anorthosis Famagusta
Anorthosis Famagusta have a fully-fit squad for Thursday's game.
The Cyprian side have looked in good touch in the friendlies, and manager Temur Ketsbaia will likely field his tried and tested lineup which played against PAEEK.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Rapid Wien vs Anorthosis Famagusta Predicted XI
Rapid Wien predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Richard Strebinger; Filip Stojkovic, Leo Greiml, Kevin Wimmer; Thorsten Schick, Lion Schuster, Dejan Petrovic, Maximilian Ullmann; Christoph Knasmullner, Taxiarchis Fountas; Ercan Kara
Anorthosis Famagusta XI (4-3-3): Assaf Tsur; Hovhannes Hambardzumyan, Pavlos Correa, Paulus Arajuuri, Anderson Correia; Josef Husbauer, Kostakis Artymatas, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos; Milos Deletic, Roushias, Dimitrios Christofi
Rapid Wien vs Anorthosis Famagusta Prediction
Rapid Wien hold the upper hand going into this game, considering they have played a bunch of competitive games this season. However, their form doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, as they haven't won a game in their last three matches.
Meanwhile, Anorthosis look like a well-drilled outfit despite losing key players in the transfer market, and we can see them securing a narrow win away from home on Thursday.
Prediction: Rapid Wien 1-2 Anorthosis Famagusta
