If Rapid overcomes the hurdle of Wisla, they would face the winner of Trabzonspor (TUR) against Ruzomberok (SVK). If they are knocked out, they would continue playing in the third Conference League qualifying round against the promoted team from FK Sarajevo (BIH) against Spartak Trnava (SVK). Reaching a European Cup group stage is one of Rapid’s major goals, as coach Robert Klauß also confirmed.
“We’re up for it, we definitely want to go there because we can develop our players there and because it is of course a source of financial income for us as a club and a platform on which we can present ourselves,” said the German.
Preview: Qualifying matches of the Austrian clubs
For both of Vienna’s major clubs, Austria and Rapid, the football season begins on Thursday with away games. While the “Violets” have to travel to Finland for the Conference League qualification, the Green-Whites are travelling to Poland for the Europa League qualification.
“I hope we win a lot of games”
Given these advantages, they would gladly accept English weeks. “I like playing a lot, playing every three days. That’s what we worked for last season and now in the summer, to be ready,” said Klauß.
It is positive that the squad was put together early, “because we start very early with important games. That also defines the autumn for us to a certain extent, what happens in the next few weeks in the qualifying round. We are really looking forward to that. I hope that we win a lot of games,” explained the coach.
Europa League
qualification
Europa League qualification Second round, first leg:
6 p.m., live on ORF1
Krakow – Rapid
Henryk-Reyman-Stadion, SR El-Emara (FIN) READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Possible lineups
Wisla: Chichkan – Jaroch, Uryga, Colley, Mikulec – Sapala, Carbo – Baena, Gogol, Sukiennicki – Rodado
Rapid: Hedl – Bolla, Cvetkovic, Raux-Yao, Auer – Jansson, Sangare, Grgic, Seidl – Burgstaller, Beljo
Possible favorite role
Although Klauß had to accept the short-term absence of the sick Louis Schaub and Nikolas Sattlberger, he looked back on what he described as a “good transfer period”. “It’s not so much about the players now, but rather that we were finished with everything relatively early. We were able to sign the players with whom we had been in contact and in contact for a long time. I think that a few processes are already working quite well.”
Rapid can provide its first proof of the truth against a traditional club that currently only plays in the second Polish league and qualified for the European Cup by winning the cup. They are “probably” the favorites, Klauß suspected. “We accept the role, but I believe that the opponent should not be underestimated under any circumstances. It is a big task, especially away from home, because we are playing in front of a large crowd. There will be loud support, just a good atmosphere. But we are looking forward to it.”
Wisla with strong offensive
Klauß described Wisla as a team “that has its strengths in attack with two or three really good players.” The club from Krakow won the first qualifying round against the Kosovar runner-up KF Llapi 2-0 (home) and 2-1 (away). However, these matches were “not really meaningful,” Klauß stressed. “How much quality did the opponent have? How far were they challenged? The games were very clear in Krakow’s favor. We know what to expect in terms of content, we will see how high the quality is in the end. I still believe that we will be challenged.”
Klauß and his protégés took off from Vienna-Schwechat Airport on Wednesday morning with a delay of around two hours. Around 25,000 spectators are expected at the Henryk Reyman Stadium in Krakow, with around 700 Rapid fans travelling from Austria.
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