Bundesliga Austria, Sunday, 16/03/2025 at 5:00 PM
The regular season in Austria is coming to an end. Before the playoffs start at the top and bottom, there is one last matchday to be played. And some decisions are still expected here.
The green-whites from the capital have to defend sixth place, so it is quite possible that a win is mandatory. In my SK Rapid GAK betting tip, I will now tell you why I expect a very close match and therefore consider a +2 handicap for the guests.
Is Rapid Vienna really going to lose their place in the championship playoffs at the last minute? Until December began, things were going really well for the Viennese, they only lost one game and were at the top.
When the calendar welcomed the twelfth month of the year, the good mood was over. The 1-0 defeat to Blau-Weiß Linz was the start of a crisis that continues to this day.
Two of the last eleven matches have been won, four of the last five have ended without a point. The 5-0 win against Altach at the beginning of March was celebrated, but just a few days later, the form curve pointed downwards again in the 2-1 defeat against Hartberg.
Admittedly, many slip-ups are due to the fact that Rapid, like everyone else, has to play regularly away from home. At home, they have collected 22 points and conceded just nine goals.
Away from home, we count a single win, nine points and ten goals scored, Rapid play like a promoted team away from home. It’s a good thing that the decisive game for playoff participation will now take place at their own stadium.
But it’s not as if Rapid are shooting their opponents out of the arena by the dozen. The aforementioned 5-0 win over Altach was their highest victory this season; four of their seven wins were by a single goal.
The team has gone into half-time with a 1-0 lead at home five times and has never been behind. Speaking of being behind: Although the green-whites are so weak away from home, I can only see three teams trailing after 45 minutes.
If you want to bet on a lead after half one on Sunday, you can get odds of 1.80 at Betano. At the same time, there was only one home game in which no goal was scored before half-time.
The bet is a bit low-risk, but if you are still satisfied with odds of 1.50, you can bet on a goal for the home side in the first half against Graz. Speaking of odds, how much of a favorite are Rapid?
With our betting providers with Apple Pay function, an average of 1.35 to 8.50 can be seen, which is a clear favorite. The guests from Graz are second to last, with only 16 points on the account.
Since the last one is directly relegated and Altach is at 15 points, it is really about survival for the reds on Sunday. With 42 goals conceded, they (together with Klagenfurt) have the weakest defense, and recently there have been three defeats in a row.
Well, with Austria Vienna and Sturm Graz, the last two opponents were also extremely difficult. The 1-2 defeats were actually almost respectable, but in the relegation battle, praise for fighting spirit gets you nowhere.
It was particularly bitter against the league leaders, with the two goals against coming just before the final whistle. They have not scored in the first half in six games, with four of them ending 0-0 at half-time.
Whether Graz play at home or away doesn’t really make much of a difference. But: they have only lost one of the last four matches away from home, which should give them courage for the decisive weekend.
The only defeat was the 4-2 loss to Klagenfurt, when they allowed a 2-2 draw and then conceded two late goals again. It is also worth mentioning that Graz have only gone away twice without scoring.
Two questions need to be answered: Will Rapid Vienna make it into the championship playoffs and will Grazer AK be relegated? A win could be necessary for both, but maybe a defeat will also achieve the goal.
For me, anything can happen in either direction, because the green-whites haven’t made a particularly stable impression on me lately. Two wins from the last eleven matches was far too few.
Since the pressure is high on both sides, the slightest mistake can decide the game. In this respect, I expect it to be a close game and therefore predict:
Graz “wins” by a +2 handicap!
