Europa Conference League last 16, Thursday, 06/03/2025 at 9:00 pm
This duel will go down in history as the first meeting between Borac Banja Luka and Rapid Vienna. If things go badly, the fans will have to cope with a game without any goals.
For both clubs, this is their first appearance in the last sixteen of the Conference League and thus their greatest success in this European competition.
Thanks to their exceptionally well-organized defense (5 goals conceded in 6 games), Rapid have earned fourth place in the league phase and skipped the playoffs.
The hosts did not escape the intermediate round, but at least they made it through it successfully. One goal against NK Olimpija was enough for Mladen Zizovic’s team to advance to the last sixteen.
As in many previous matches in this Conference League season, Banja Luka is the underdog in this game. The aim will be, as before, to provoke a low-scoring game.
The guests’ inconsistent performances confirm my impression of a game with “under 2.5 goals”. I am betting on my Banja Luka Rapid Vienna tip at Interwetten at odds of 1.72.
The bookmakers’ forecast
So far, the reigning Bosnian champions have not yet suffered a single home defeat in the current Conference League season.
The hosts are always an unpleasant opponent, but one that is not held in high regard by the betting providers. As an example of this, you can find odds of 3.47 for a home win in the Merkur Bets app.
In European competition, Rapid have sold themselves quite expensively so far, winning four of six Conference League games.
Another success for the green-whites is the most likely option from the bookmakers’ point of view, yielding around 2.20 times the profit.
AI Prediction Banja Luka vs Rapid Vienna: That’s what ChatGPT tips
After six league games without a win in a row, the Viennese pulled off a breakthrough last weekend and got an important three points with a 5-0 win against SCR Altach.
In the three previous competitive games, the guests conceded a total of seven goals, which ChatGPT apparently took as a warning. The AI’s lowest-risk prediction is a bet on “Both teams to score”, which you can find at Betano at odds of 1.78.
Following on from that, the artificial intelligence anticipates an “Over 2.5 goals” pairing. If you share this assessment with ChatGPT, the offer of odds of 2.05 from Interwetten is worthwhile.
The AI forecast for its Banja Luka Rapid Vienna tip obviously rates the Rapid team’s recent romp quite highly.
As a final recommendation, the artificial intelligence really comes up trumps again and advises a high-risk bet on “Rapid Vienna (HC -1)”. The odds of 4.00 at Bwin are not enough for me to seriously consider this option.
Analysis: Banja Luka vs Rapid Vienna
The green-whites took advantage of their last appearance in the Conference League at the end of December and made a last mark with a 3-0 victory over Copenhagen.
Since then, the guests have only played four competitive games, three of which they have lost. Only the most recent appearance against Altach (5-0) was convincing and victorious at the same time.
Robert Klauß’s team have only rarely been able to convert the performances they have shown into the desired results. The green-whites could face a similar problem in Bosnia.
Banja Luka is extremely adept at defending its own penalty area, especially in its own stadium. On the turf at the Gradski Stadium, the hosts are usually pushed to their performance limit and beyond by almost 10,000 euphoric supporters.
The extra push that Zizovic’s team regularly receives at home is reflected in the results. Banja Luka are still unbeaten at home (2W, 2D) and have only conceded two goals in their own arena.
Odds Analysis
Six of the Bosnian champions’ eight Conference League encounters ended without either side scoring. In their last three consecutive European games, fewer than two goals have been scored overall.
In my Banja Luka Rapid Vienna betting tip, I am fully and completely in favor of a low-scoring game. In addition to a game with a maximum of two goals, I expect a game in which “Both teams to score – No” will be successful.
For “Both teams score – No”, a sports betting bonus might even be worthwhile, which you can put into the odds of just under 2.00.
Banja Luka vs. Rapid Vienna odds: A cautionary tale
Rapid Vienna is not the first opponent from the Austrian Bundesliga that Banja Luka wants to take on in this Conference League season.
On the fourth matchday of the league phase, LASK were already guests at the outsiders from Bosnia and returned to Austria with a painful 1-2 defeat.
Throughout the entire game, Zizovic’s team allowed LASK only 0.52 xG worth of scoring chances – a real classic for the Conference League home games of Banja Luka and a warning to Rapid Vienna.
The hosts have kept two of their four Conference League home games clean and have not conceded more than two goals in total.
Goalkeeper Filip Manojkovic brings his advantageous height of 1.97 m into play in a consistently positive way and has so far saved 76.0 percent of the shots on target.
His four clean sheets are only bettered by Matevz Vidovsek (5). However, he is closely followed by Niklas Hedl (3), who is the goalkeeper for Rapid Vienna.
Increased relevance
The first leg in Bosnia will be the only game involving the fans of Borac Banja Luka. After some riots during the playoff game against Olimpija Ljubljana, UEFA has taken action and banned the home team’s supporters from the return game.
I expect the support from the stands all the more energetically in the first encounter. I also expect a particularly committed performance from captain Srdjan Grahovic.
The 32-year-old has worn the Rapid Vienna shirt 195 times in the course of his career. His qualities as a sweeper are of great importance for a successful Banja Luka Rapid Vienna tip.
Whether the home side will score at all is a big question mark. The Zizovic selection have not scored more than five goals so far.
Of the four previous Conference League encounters, the hosts have only used one pairing to score at least one goal of their own.
That goal was crucial, however, and enabled the hosts to reach the first Conference League knockout round in the club’s history.
The Rapid players are well equipped to leave the home side without scoring a goal in their own stadium. In six matches in the league phase, the green-and-whites have only allowed five goals against.
Robert Klauß’s team has also kept a maximum of one clean sheet in five of their six appearances in the Conference League. In my reading, this nourishes the ground for a low-scoring encounter.
My Banja Luka Rapid Vienna betting tip:
Six of the hosts’ eight Conference League encounters have included “Under 2.5 goals” and were decided by individual moments.
The three previous encounters between Banja Luka and Rapid Vienna offered the attending audience only one goal in total and were characterized by defensive excellence.
So far, the Bosnian champions have skillfully concealed their own weaknesses in the attacking third and made it to the last sixteen, although they have only scored more than one goal in one game.
My Banja Luka Rapid Vienna betting tip: Under 2.5 goals!
