- SK Rapid Wien are unbeaten in 10 matches (W9, D1) and have won 5 consecutive matches. Hearts Of Midlothian have 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in their 4 home matches, conceding just 4 goals across the 4 games. Both teams to score at 1.58 looks a sharp angle.
Rapid ready to run Hearts down
SK Rapid Wien's 9 wins from their last 10 matches in all competitions and four straight away wins make them very dangerous opponents for Hearts Of Midlothian FC on Thursday. The Scottish side will need to play at their maximum level to keep the Austrian visitors at bay in what should be a tight European clash at Tynecastle Park.
Johannes Hoff Thorup's 4-3-3 is built around a possession-based approach, with the Danish coach using his midfielders to control games, which makes this a game of press vs possession.
Wouter Vrancken's Hearts are another side built around a high-intensity approach, with the Belgian using his 4-2-3-1 system to apply aggressive pressing and make transitions into their own attacking areas. The Jambos will fancy they can disrupt the Austrians early on and make their own transitions, but Rapid are finishing games cleanly at the moment.
Austria side are coming in on a roll
Hearts have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 6 of their last 10 games in all competitions, which is not a great record, but they did follow up a 1-1 home draw with Benfica in UEFA Europa League qualifying with a 4-0 rout of Dundee United in the Premiership.
Rapid are a higher class of opponent, however, and there is no doubt that the Austrians are the form team heading into this contest. Die Grün-Weißen have won 5 matches in a row and are scoring plenty of goals in the process, but it is the final third accuracy that will worry Vrancken the most.
Ercan Kara has 3 goals in 2 UEFA Conference League qualifiers and will be licking his lips at the chance to play against a team that likes to press high and are liable to leave space at the back when they do. Rapid have played 4 games away from home this term and scored 12 goals in those fixtures, so we fancy them to take this match and will take the 3.1 quote on offer, the odds making Hearts narrow favourite at 2.15.
Jambos’ home record could be crucial
Rapid's perfect away record is all the more reason to like them for the win, but there is a case to be made for Hearts to get some joy at home. The Jambos have 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from 4 matches at Tynecastle, while they have conceded only 4 goals in that sequence.
The draw at 3.6 looks a solid proposition given Hearts have 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats from their last 5 fixtures and the visitors are unbeaten in 10, but both teams to score at 1.58 looks the smart bet because of Hearts' pressing approach and Rapid's away firepower.
