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Rapid Vienna and Valencia square off in a meaningless Europa League Last 32 second leg match, but the hosts will be keen to salvage some pride after being demolished 0-6 in Spain.
Rapid Vienna’s 0-6 defeat in the first leg was a shocker, as the Austrian side was playing some really good football and they also proved themselves against top European sides this season. However, Rapid Wien was nowhere to be found, as they were down 0-5 by the 35th minute mark. The most likely cause for the humiliation were the early goals, along with Rapid’s potential hangover after the big 3-0 success over rivals Austria Vienna. To their credit, today’s hosts bounced back over the weekend with a solid 2-0 road win against a good Sturm Graz team, remaining tied for the first place with Salzburg.
Valencia is definitely out of the slump. After not winning a Primera Division game since early November, Valencia claimed a hard fought win over poor Espanyol, destroyed Rapid Vienna and backed up that result with a good 2-1 road win over Granada a few days ago. The Spanish side probably needs more time to reach its full potential, but Gary Neville’s hand is finally starting to have an effect. The English manager decided to leave a few key players at home ahead of this clash, even if he stated that he will treat the game seriously, looking for a 4th win in a row.
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Team news & lineups:
Rapid Vienna is involved in a neck and neck battle with Salzburg for the title and the Bungesliga clearly has priority now, but they have an easy game coming up on Sunday, so they are expected to field the best lineup here, hoping to redeem themselves after the humiliation suffered in Spain. As for Valencia, key players like Gomes, Parejo, Cheryshev or Enzo Perez will definitely not play, with a few other guys likely to be rested as well for the game against Bilbao – as Valencia still nurtures hopes of European qualification for next season. Gary Neville has called up 5 players from the youth team ahead of this clash. As such, Valencia is expected to field a weakened lineup.
Rapid Vienna: Strebinger – Pavelic, Sonnleitner, Hofmann, Strangl – Petsos, Grahovac – Kainz, Schwab, Schobesberger – Jelic
Valencia: Alves – Cancelo, Santos, Vezo, Gaya – Fuego, Bakkali – Tropi, Rodrigo, Mina – Piatti
While the first leg result was clearly an accident, Valencia still proved its superiority and will be keen to keep the momentum going. However, with the Spanish side expected to field a weakened lineup, the value seems to lie on Rapid Vienna and it`s no surprise that the odds on a home win are dropping.
The hosts will be desperate to exit the competition with their heads held high and will look at their earlier success this season against teams like Ajax, Shakhtar or Villarreal in order to draw confidence. I believe a good and in form side like like Rapid Vienna, hurt in pride, should be able to edge a Valencia team that will miss some key players. My tip is Rapid Vienna to win with a 0,25 asian handicap. Prediction: Rapid Vienna – Valencia 2-1.
Pick: Rapid Wien (-0,25 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.95 @ Unibet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.60
Event date: 25 February
