Haecken – Rayo Vallecano

The Madrid club will be able to win on the opponent's field in Sweden.

The club from the Swedish city of Gothenburg qualified for the European Cups this season as the last representative of their country. This happened at the end of May when Hacken defeated Malmo in the final of the Swedish Cup. Unlike the more successful teams in the league, Hammarby and AIK, which were eliminated in the qualification round of the Conference League, Hacken proved to be more fruitful on the European stage. Although the first match of the group stage of the Conference League was not particularly ambitious, the wasps ended in a goalless draw with local Shelbourne in Ireland. The guests from Madrid have never won anything significant in their history. Rayo Vallecano only participated in European competitions in the 2000/2001 season (UEFA Cup), where they qualified by a stroke of luck—via the Fair Play principle. Despite the inexperience of the Spanish representative, they managed to reach the quarter-finals of the second-tier competition in Europe back then. Currently, there is no doubt about the seriousness of the Madrid team's intentions in European competitions. The club approaches the matches in the Conference League with interest, even considering the weakness of their opponents. Bookmakers have identified the visitors as the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.75 for their victory. In the coming month, the Swedish championship will come to an end, as it is played in a 'spring-autumn' system. Regardless of how the last three rounds finish for the club, Hacken will finish in the vicinity of the middle of the league table, with no risk of relegation and no chance of qualifying for the European Cups for the 2026/2027 season. This allows the team to focus on the Conference League. However, the current ninth place in a rather weak Allsvenskan highlights the real professional level of the Gothenburg team. Reaching the semi-finals of last year's Conference League by Djurgården is an event that has a chance of happening once every 50 years for Sweden. One should not expect similar heroics from Hacken. Rayo Vallecano flies to Gothenburg on a three-match winning streak. Following a winning debut in the group stage of the Conference League against Shkendija, the Madrid club won away in La Liga against Levante and Real Sociedad. With the same serious attitude from the guests as in their encounters with Neman and Shkendija, Hacken will have no chances of even scoring a point.