On Thursday evening, Zorya Lugansk host Rapid Vienna in the Europa League play-off round second leg. The visitors already have a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg in the Austrian capital.
Zorya Lugansk head into this clash in inconsistent form, having won just one of their last four competitive matches. A 4-3 win at Mariupol’ last time out ended a three-game winless run for the Ukrainian team.
The fact that they have taken just seven points from their first five matches in their domestic league illustrates their recent inconsistency.
Their recent outings have at least been entertaining, as four of their last five matches in all competitions have produced over 2.5 goals.
Zorya have a poor recent record in the Europa League, as not only have the home team suffered back-to-back defeats in the competition, they have also won just two of their previous nine games in the Europa League.
They have only won once in their last four matches in European football’s secondary competition.
Rapid Vienna will feel they have one foot into the group stage after the first leg win.
Despite the win though, the Austrian team have made a slightly inconsistent start to the campaign, as like their opponents they have only taken seven points from the last five matches in their domestic league. They have recorded back-to-back 3-0 wins after a weekend win over Ried.
The visitors have an inconsistent recent record in the Europa League, having won just two of their last five matches in the competition. Their most recent games in the competition have been high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in their last seven matches.
Forebet predicts that Rapid Vienna will record a victory in a high-scoring encounter to book their place in the group stage of the Europa League.