Vitesse vs Rapid Vienna Match Analysis and Prediction

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Rapid Vienna will make a trip to Netherlands to face Vitesse for the second leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie on Thursday.

The visitors enter the contest with a narrow 2-1 lead after a hard-fought win at home last Thursday, although there is still everything to play for.

After securing second place in their Conference League group, with third-placed Tottenham Hotspur forced to forfeit their final game and finishing three points short as a result, Vitesse must rely on a playoff game if they are to secure a spot in the final 16.

They were drawn against Rapid Vienna in a two-legged affair and headed into the first leg last week in a concerning run of form, having lost five consecutive matches across all competitions, ending up in a back-to-back 5-0 trumping at the hands of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.

The Arnhem outfit will now look for a first victory in over a month in their bid to overcome the one-goal deficit and advance into the round of 16 of the inaugural Conference League campaign.

Meanwhile, Rapid Vienna arrive with the sole intention of defending a narrow lead after escaping from the first leg with a victory, despite playing with 10 men for the final 30 minutes after defender Filip Stojkovic was sent off.

Prior to that, the 32-time Austrian champions had dropped out of their Europa League group, collecting only six points from their six games, although a 1-0 win over Genk in the final round of fixture did ensure they pushed Bernd Storck’s side to third place, securing the lifeline of a Europa Conference League playoff place.

Having followed up back-to-back losses with that first-leg win, Rapid Vienna returned to domestic action on Sunday, an 83rd minute Kevin Wimmer equaliser seeing them earn a 2-2 draw away at Sturm Graz.

Vitesse vs Rapid Vienna head to head

The two sides have previously met on only one occasion in the first leg of the Europa Conference League playoff tie, where Rapid Vienna took a 2-1 home victory.

Rapid Vienna 2-1 Vitesse 17/02/22

Vitesse latest home form

Vitesse have most recently been on a poor form at home, having lost each of their two most recent matches. Their last home victory came on January 18 when they defeated DVS ’33 2-0 in the KNVB Bever. In their last five matches, they have scored 6 goals and conceded 9.

Vitesse 2-1 Sparta Rotterdam 15/12/21

Vitesse 1-0 PEC Zwole 21/12/21

Vitesse 2-0 DVS ’33 18/01/22

Vitesse 1-3 Groningen 22/01/22

Vitesse 0-5 PSV 12/02/22

Vitesse latest away form

Vitesse have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having been winless in their four most recent macthes. They recently lost 5-0 to Ajax in the KNVB Beker. In their last five matches, they have won one, drawn one and lost three, scoring 3 goals and conceding 11.

Feyenoord 0-1 Vitesse 15/01/22

Twente 3-0 Vitesse 05/02/22

Ajax 5-0 Vitesse 09/02/22

Rapid Vienna 2-1 Vitesse 17/02/22

Utrecht 1-1 Vitesse 20/02/22

Rapid Vienna latest home form

Rapid Vienna most recently defeated Vitesse 2-1 in the Europa Conference League. However, they have recently been on a poor form at home, having won just one of their previous five matches. In their last five matches, they have won two and lost three, scoring 6 goals and conceding 7.

Rapid Vienna 1-2 Pogon Szczecin 22/01/22

Rapid Vienna 1-0 Trencin 29/01/22

Rapid Vienna 1-2 Hartberg 05/02/22

Rapid Vienna 1-2 Salzburg 11/02/22

Rapid Vienna 2-1 Vitesse 17/02/22

Rapid Vienna latest away form

Rapid Vienna have recently been on a relatively good form on the road, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They lost 2-1 to Teplice in a club firendly match on January 22. In their last five macthes, they have won three, drawn one and lost one.

Genk 0-1 Rapid Vienna 09/12/21

Admira 1-2 Rapid Vienna 12/12/21

Cracovia 1-2 Rapid Vienna 19/01/22

Teplice 2-1 Rapid Vienna 22/01/22

Sturm Graz 2-2 Rapid Vienna 20/02/22

Vitesse news

Vitesse come into the contest with a clean bill of health after young defender Enzo Cornelisse was fit to make the bench in their recent league game.

While striker Adrian Grbic was sent off against Utrecht, his suspension will carry over to their next Eredivisie game, leaving him free for this tie.

Rapid Vienna news

Rapid will miss out key full-back Filip Stojkovic after his sending off last week, with Dejan Petrovic or Kevin Wimmer expected to come into the back line in his absence.

Ferdy Druijf will again lead the line after his first-leg goal, while Marco Grull offers threat from the left wing.

Prediction and Odds

Both teams enter the tie evenly matched and we expect a tightly contested match with either side seemingly having the chance to advance to the next round.

Despite Vitesse having the ability to overturn the deficit, we expect the visitor to have enough to overcome Vitesse and win the game.

Odds: 1 2.45 X 2.05 2 2.20