Rapid Vienna vs Viktoria Plzen Betting Tips

Rapid Vienna opened their Europa League campaign with an impressive 2-1 win over La Liga side Villareal, and they followed this with a 1-0 win away at Dinamo Minsk in their second game.

This puts them at the summit of Group E with a three point advantage over 2^nd placed Viktoria Plzen, so a win on Thursday would massively boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds of the Europa League.

Their win over Villareal ended a period of relatively poor form for the Austrians and set them off on a five match winning streak in all competitions.

But Rapid Vienna have stumbled now, having lost their last two games 2-1, against Salzburg and Wolfsberger AC.

This leaves them in 3^rd position in the Austrian Bundesliga with 22 points from their opening 12 games, two points fewer than Salzburg and Austria Wien above them.

Viktoria Plzen are in 2^nd position in their domestic league, level on points with Czech Liga leaders Sparta Prague after picking up 23 points from their first ten league fixtures.

But their 1-0 loss to Villareal in their second Europa League match ended their impressive winning streak and saw them slip three points behind Rapid Vienna in Group E.

Despite this, Viktoria Plzen’s form record still makes for impressive reading. They have won ten of their last 11 games in all competitions and keeping a clean sheet on seven occasions.

I fancy Rapid Vienna to use a Europa League fixture to break out of their poor form again on Thursday, with the home advantage edging it in the Austrians favour. Especially since Rapid Vienna haven’t lost at home in the Europa League in eight outings, with five of them ending in victory.

The odds are pretty favourable too, with Rapid Vienna coming in at 21/20 to beat a Viktoria Plzen side who have lost two of their last four away days in the Europa League.