Rapid Vienna vs SCR Altach Predictions

Rapid Vienna now have little left to play for; they’re guaranteed a place in the Europa League play-offs, though Altach are still fighting for their place in said play-offs. After their win last time out, the visitors will be hoping to upset the home crowd at Allianz Stadion.

Mattersburg managed to get the better of Rapid last time out, which suggests that Saturday’s hosts were poor, though there was a large slice of luck involved. On the balance of play, Dietmar Kühbauer’s men were the better side, as they created 1.47 expected goals and conceded only 0.78, so punters shouldn’t read too much into that result.

On their own patch, Rapid have been reasonably tough to beat this season; they’ve lost just four of their 15 games at Allianz Stadion, losing only two of their last ten. Moreover, they’ve made it tough for teams to score against them, as they’ve shipped only 13 goals at home all season. Such defensive sturdiness has allowed Rapid to keep a clean sheet in 47% of their games in front of their own fans.

However, while they’ve been useful from a defensive point of view, they’ve not exactly thrived at the other end. In terms of creativity, they’ve been useful, averaging 1.86 expected goals for, but goals have been hard to come by for Saturday’s hosts, who’ve notched just 19 goals. 19 in 15 may not seem terrible, though it’s not great when only one team in the entire division has scored less.

As for the visitors, well, Altach have done reasonably well away from home of late. They’ve won two of their last three travelling matches, while they’ve avoided defeat in each of their last six on the road, bettering their opponents in terms of expected goals in five of those six.

Like Rapid at home, Altach have done well at the back on their travels this season. Saturday’s visitors have conceded just 14 goals away from home, which is a total that cannot be bettered by any other side in the Austrian top-flight. They’ve only scored as many as Rapid have at home (19), though they’ve made up for a lack of attacking potency by having a sturdy back-line.

In terms of creativity, Rapid have done better at home than Altach have on the road, but they’ve done no better in terms of getting the ball in the back of the net, nor have they done any better at the back. If we consider this in conjunction with the fact that the hosts have nothing really to fight for, then it becomes easy to feel that the visitors are slightly overpriced. On this basis, a small play on ‘Altach +1 Handicap’ is warranted.

An additional bet that catches the eye is ‘Under 2.5 Goals’. Given that both teams have done their best work at the back, it’s easy to feel that the chances of a relatively low-scoring affair are greater than the current odds. After all, they’ve surrendered a combined average of just 1.8 goals in their respective home and away games.