Rapid Vienna – Djurgarden

The Swedish club will play honourably in the return meeting with Rapid

The first encounter between Djurgården and Rapid in the Swedish capital was the most unremarkable not only among the quarter-final matches of the Conference League, but also at this stage of the European Cup tournaments in general. Despite the relatively high number of shots on goal from the first half onwards, there was rarely much danger from them. The only goal of the match was also unremarkable. Austrian midfielder Schaub broke through on the right flank to the Jurgården goal, shot along the goal and Finndell cut the ball into the net. Rapids quite calmly brought the meeting to victory and are preparing to confirm their advantage in the home walls. Another thing is that the Swedish team is unlikely to do the number in Vienna. Jurgården have put too much on the line for the current Conference League draw. Because of the longest participation in European competitions in its history, the Stockholm team finished only fourth in the Allsvenskan 2024 and suffered two defeats at the start of the new championship. Bookmakers have identified the home team as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.80 on their victory. After the victory in Stockholm, Rapid improved their mood in the national championship. Having suffered two defeats at the start of the second stage of the Austrian Bundesliga, the team from the capital managed to do away with Austria at home. And the second team of the championship was beaten by Rapid without any problems. At the same time, the Austrians should not be overestimated. Firstly, Rapid are the fourth-fifth club in the division in Austria, which has taken root over the last three years. Secondly, it is hardly appropriate to talk about the excessive strength of the team after two victories, if before them there were two "dry" defeats. Djurgården lost their Swedish championship match to Hammarby. However, it is unlikely that the minds of Swedish players can be filled with Allsvenskan meetings, when the first in the history of the club semifinal of the European tournament is at stake. Recall that at the end of March, the capital club lost the opening match of the new Swedish championship to Malmo, but managed to rehabilitate the weekend before last with an away win over Sirius. The visitors will be very motivated and will not lose in Vienna.