Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Conference League match.
The quarter-final between Djurgården and Rapid Wien is arguably the least eye-catching of the round and offers no standout favourite. While Rapid Wien might appear slightly more favoured, both clubs had relatively favourable paths in earlier rounds.
Djurgården
In the previous play-off round against Pafos (3:1 on aggregate), Djurgården mounted an impressive turnaround in the second leg (3:0), although Pafos posted a higher expected goals statistic (2.17–2.01 in xG). For this fixture, Djurgården will be without Tokmac Nguen and Daniel Stensson, both serving suspensions for accumulated yellow cards. In the early stages of the new Swedish league season, their matches have yet to produce a single Total Over 2.5 goals result — a 0:1 defeat to Malmö and a narrow 1:0 win over IK Sirius Fotboll were both low-event contests.
Rapid Wien
Rapid Wien, by contrast, have seen a marked dip in attacking output since the international break. They failed to score in 0:2 defeats to both FC Red Bull Salzburg and SK Sturm Graz, falling further behind in the Austrian Bundesliga standings. In their Europa Conference League Round of 16 clash with Borac Banja Luka (3:2 on aggregate), Rapid Wien created 3.96 xG over 120 minutes in the home leg (2:1) — underlining ongoing inefficiencies in front of goal that may continue into the quarter-finals.
Djurgården vs Rapid Wien Prediction
With key midfielder Mamadou Sangare also ruled out through suspension, Rapid Wien are expected to approach the away leg with caution. Djurgården, similarly, are likely to keep things tight, leaving the decisive moments for the second leg.
