NK Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Rapid Wien Prediction & Betting Tips - Champions League

Prediction published on 22/08/2020, 13:52  by James | Modified on 22/08/2020 at 14:52 in Champions League Predictions

The second qualifying round of the Champions League pits Lokomotiva Zagreb against Rapid Vienna at the Stadion Kranjčevićevoj on Wednesday night. Lokomotiva earned a place at this stage of the competition by finishing second in the Croatian top flight last season. They are currently fifth in the table after two games of the new season. Rapid made it to this stage after finishing second in the Austrian Bundesliga last season. The new Austrian top-flight season will not start until September. Lokomotiva have played competitive football more recently than their opponents but the question of how much good that has done them will be asked. They started off the campaign with a catastrophic 6-0 defeat to last season's champions, Dinamo Zagreb. Although they bounced back with a win over Rijeka the following week, their pride will be in vulnerable condition coming into this fixture. Rapid ended their season at the start of July on a low, closing out with a 3-1 defeat to Wolfsberger AC. Friendly results, for any insight they give, have been mixed.

Last season's second-placed finish was the highest that Lokomotiva have achieved in seven seasons. They have never managed to win the league and they don't have much European experience under their belts. Lokomotiva's European history consists of 14 matches, all of which were in qualification rounds. Rapid have a prouder European history, one which contains famous wins over clubs like Celtic and appearances in two finals of the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup. Yet the last time that they qualified for the Champions League was in 2005, so the glory days are long gone. Rapid have at least competed in the Europa League group stage several times over the last decade and we believe that this additional experience will help them progress to the next round.