Djurgarden will host Rapid Wien at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday night in the first leg of their 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League quarterfinal clash. The hosts will be keen to capitalize on their home advantage to get a win this midweek.
Djurgarden lost the first leg but ended up defeating Pafos in the last 16 with a 3-1 aggregate to make the final eight after finishing fifth in the league phase. The hosts failed to finish in the top three of the recently concluded Swedish Allsvenskan season and must now go all the way in the Conference League to secure European football next season.
Rapid Wien finished tied on points with Thursday's hosts in the league phase before getting past Borac in the round of 16 on a 3-2 aggregate victory but have since struggled for results in their domestic league. The Austrian side will be looking to take a step towards a first European semifinals appearance since the 1995-96 season by putting up a show this midweek.
The sides are very closely matched going into Thursday's game but Djurgaden will hope to receive a boost from their home advantage and ultimately secure an advantage in the tie.
Die Grün-Weißen will be satisfied to get a draw and leave the result to be determined in the second leg but will have to get past their recent domestic lapses to get a result.
We expect Djurgarden to secure a narrow first-leg win.
Prediction: Djurgarden 2-1 Rapid Wien
Tip 1 - Result: Djurgarden to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Four of the hosts’ last six Conference League games have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: Yes (Both sides have gotten on the scoresheet in four of the visitors' last five Conference League matches)