The Europa Conference League knockout stages begin on Thursday with Vitesse Arnhem heading to Austria for a clash with Rapid Vienna. The kick-off is at 17.45.
- Follow Football-Oranje on Twitter
It has been an excellent European campaign so far for Vitesse, who saw off Anderlecht in the qualifiers before coming second in a group that contained both Stade Rennais and English giants Tottenham Hotspur.
Vitesse will be looking to continue their fine European form when they head to Austria on Thursday, but they go into that clash on the back of four straight losses. The last two games have seen Vitesse lose 5-0 to both Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
Opponents Rapid Vienna finished third in their Europa League group behind West Ham United and Dinamo Zagreb. They are currently fifth in the Austrian League and have lost their last two games.
Team News
Vitesse will be without the suspended Matus Bero for the clash in Austria but Thomas Letsch has a full strength squad apart from that.
Possible Vitesse line-up: Houwen, Dasa, Wittek, Bazoer, Rasmussen, Doekhi, Tronstad, Vroegh, Frederiksen, Openda, Grbic
AZ Alkmaar striker Ferdy Druijf is on loan at Rapid Vienna and could play a part against Vitesse, but most likely from the bench. Exciting forward Yusuf Demir could also feature along with former Tottenham centre-back Kevin Wimmer.
Possible Rapid Vienna line-up: Gartler, Schick, Auer, Stojkovic, Moormann, Aiwu, Grahovac, Petrovic, Oswald, Grull, Kitagawa
Odds
Rapid Vienna 13/10 Draw 12/5 Vitesse 21/10
Can Vitesse come away from Vienna with a victory?
Vitesse’s European campaign has been great so far and they definitely have a chance of progressing to the next round.
Rapid Vienna are a decent side with some dangerous players and Vitesse will have to be much better defensively than they have been in recent weeks.
The clash could be a cagey affair and Vitesse will be hoping to keep it tight and take a good side back to Arnhem next week. A draw would be a successful evening for the Arnhem side.
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
