Rapid can open the door to the semifinals against Djurgarden

For Rapid, Thursday in Stockholm marks the first European Cup quarterfinal with Austrian participation since the 2017/18 season. At Djurgardens IF, the Viennese aim to secure a good position for the return match and try to shake off the negative trend from the domestic league. It is the start of a "week of truth" for Green-White - on Sunday, the derby against Austria takes place at home. The Swedes are struggling with personnel issues.

Rapid Praises Djurgarden

"I believe that in both duels it will be a game on equal terms," said Rapid coach Robert Klauß. "They have delivered many good games at home, have beaten Legia Warsaw, have beaten Panathinaikos. So it is a really, really good team, we have to go to the limit. But I still believe that we have a good chance." Louis Schaub also attested to the opponent's high quality: "I think, especially at home, it is a very strong team. They also want to have the ball very often."

SK Rapid has lost the last two Bundesliga matches, in the Europa Conference League there were two draws after 90 minutes in the round of 16 against Borac Banja Luka. In the return match in Vienna, they only prevailed against the Bosnians in extra time. Against Djurgarden, it is also about "getting back in small steps what is currently missing, what simply wasn't so good in the last two games," said Klauß.

Burgstaller On Board

With the upcoming comeback of Guido Burgstaller, the Rapid family at least receives a morale boost. The striker flew to Sweden and could be used as a "joker" on Thursday evening (9:00 PM/live Canal+), as Klauß confirmed. Burgstaller could "give the team a real boost," the head coach explained. "That's why we quickly reintegrated him and tried to bring him along, because he is of course very important, and because we missed him."

Definitely missing are the injured Nikolaus Wurmbrand and Jakob Schöller, and Mamadou Sangare is serving a yellow card suspension. Former Sweden legionnaire Romeo Amane and Moritz Oswald can take his position. In the semifinals, Rapid would face Chelsea or Legia Warsaw if they advance. The last time an ÖFB club was in a European Cup quarterfinal was in 2018 with Red Bull Salzburg. In the Europa League, the "Bulls" prevailed against Lazio Rome, but against Olympique Marseille, it was the end in the semifinals.

Only Two League Games

For Djurgarden, the national championship has just begun. In the Swedish league, two games have been played so far, and after a loss and a win, they are in the not very indicative ninth place. In the Conference League group stage, the twelve-time Swedish champion finished in fifth place with the same record as Rapid (four wins, one draw, one loss), with goal difference giving the Austrians the edge. The championship played in the calendar year 2024 saw the team from Stockholm finish in fourth place. After that, there was a coaching change, with the Finn Jani Honkavaara taking over from Kim Bergstrand and Thomas Lagerlöf. Lucas Bergvall was transferred to Tottenham for a reported ten million euros, and Samuel Dahl to AS Roma for four million.

"Midfield Crisis"

Problematic for the Swedes is that only three of the numerous new signings were allowed to be registered for the Conference League squad. For this reason, goalkeeper Filip Manojlovic (formerly Borac Banja Luka), ex-Juventus player Albin Ekdal, or midfielder Matias Siltanen are forced to watch on Thursday. Because there are also some injuries and suspensions, there is now a shortage.

In defensive midfield, Honkavaara, after Rasmus Schüller and Patric Aslund also got injured recently, has only Hampus Finndell available, who, however, has little match practice. Swedish newspapers have already written about a "midfield crisis." "It may be that one or two players will play somewhat out of position, meaning that more offensive players will play in the center," said Klauß. "I believe that the players they put on the field are still a really good first eleven."

Rapid Awaits Artificial Turf

The game will be played in the 3Arena in the Johannesov district. Djurgarden shares the stadium, which opened in 2013, with Stockholm's local rival Hammarby IF, whose club colors - like those of Rapid - are green and white. The Hammarby ultras have also been friends with some groups of Rapid fans for years. On Sunday, the big Stockholm city derby is on - also in anticipation of this, the police have tightened security measures.

In the stadium, which can accommodate around 30,000 people, the game will be played on artificial turf, which could slightly increase the home advantage for Djurgarden. Rapid already trained on the surface in Vienna on Tuesday, with the final training session taking place in the Stockholm arena on Wednesday. "It will be different," admitted Klauß. "You can always see how players slip in the video scenes we've watched. We have to prepare for that." The stadium will be nearly full, with 1,700 Rapid fans accompanying the team north. "There's nothing better. Even as a small child, you dream of these games," said "Euro-Louis" Schaub.

(APA/Red)

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