European Cup Qualifiers

LIVE NOW: Rapid vs. Paide from Estonia!

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Second leg of the third qualifying round for the Conference League: With a 4-1 lead from the first leg, Rapid heads into the second leg against the Estonian club Paide as the clear favorite. We’re covering the match live—see the live ticker below. The score is currently 2-0!

Here’s the live ticker:

Rapid is set to cruise through the second leg of the Conference League’s third qualifying round. After last week’s 4-1 away win at Paide, the match against the Estonians should be a mere formality. The Hütteldorf side, which has had a perfect start to the season in terms of results, is aiming for its seventh win in its seventh game of the season in front of its home crowd.

“I don’t care about the result of the first game. The only thing that matters to me is that we put in a 100-percent effort,” said Rapid coach Johannes Hoff Thorup. He sees the match as a welcome opportunity for further development. “There are no games for us to ‘waste.’ Every game is important because it contributes to the team’s development and to how good we want to become.”

Johannes Hoff Thorup(Bild: GEPA)

The team’s progress has the Dane feeling confident. “I hope everyone can see the team’s progress and, above all, how hard the players are working. Right now, there are a lot of positive aspects, but as I’ve told the players: It’s crucial to keep it up, because this positive momentum can come to a halt in a fraction of a second.”

:A Desire to ImproveThe two Bundesliga wins against Altach (1–0) and Ried (2–1) were narrow victories despite the team’s dominance. Hoff Thorup attributed this to a lack of efficiency in front of the goal. “We need to improve in this area. But the positive thing is: We’re creating chances.” Ahead of the match against Paide, the coach announced that he would again rotate “three to six players” around the existing core. “We always need a few key players, but especially on offense, we have several good options.” By Tuesday afternoon, around 12,000 tickets had been sold.

Should Rapid prevail, the Conference League campaign will continue just one week later. There, they’ll likely face Heart of Midlothian to achieve their first goal of the season: advancing to the group stage of the Conference League. The Scots, who were recently eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers by Sturm Graz with a 0–6 loss, are already trailing 1–6 against Benfica in the Europa League qualifiers following the first leg.

Injury List Clearing Up
According to Hoff Thorup, several players who have recently been injured are expected to return in the coming weeks. Defender Jean Marcelin is set to play another match with the reserve team following his comeback with Rapid II. As for Ange Ahoussou, the coach hopes the defender will rejoin team training next week at the start of the season following his viral infection. He still has some physical limitations. Forward Claude M’Buyi, who suffered a minor setback during rehab, and midfielder Martin Ndzie are expected to return to team training in early to mid-September. Andrija Radulovic has not seen any playing time so far due to the coach’s decision.