Borac Banja Luka vs SK Rapid prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2025-03-05 20:00.
[p]Borac Banja Luka have a UEFA Conference League Round of 16 tie to look forward to in what is their first-ever season in the main draw of a European competition. Mladen Žižović’s men earned their spot in the last 16 the hard way when they narrowly beat Slovenia’s Olimpija Ljubljana 1-0 on aggregate in the knockout play-off round, a pair of results that help make up what is now an eight-game unbeaten run (W6, D2).[/p]
[p]A 1-0 win in the home leg was enough to secure their safe passage, and a stubborn defence has been the biggest contributor to their fine form, with the Red-Blues keeping six clean sheets across those eight matches. The Bosnians will therefore be full of confidence ahead of Rapid Vienna’s visit, when they will be searching for their second win this season over Austrian opposition having beaten LASK 2-1 on this ground in November, a result that contributes to a near-impeccable record of just one loss in their last 12 home matches (W9, D2).[/p]
[p]Rapid bypassed the knockout play-offs by finishing in fourth in the league phase, but needed a 3-0 win over Copenhagen on the final matchday to secure that position. Since then, things have taken a turn for the worse for Robert Klauß’s men, who went on to lose their next three matches, but managed to stop the rot with an emphatic 5-0 win over Rheindorf Altach at the weekend.[/p]
[p]The Green-Whites could be feeling some nerves with this being their first taste of knockout European football since the 2021/22 season, meaning a first-leg lead would be priceless ahead of next week’s return fixture. The Austrians will have to overcome their poor form on the road to secure that, having won just one of their last nine away games (D4, L4).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Borac’s Enver Kulašin has opened the scoring in four of his last five scoring club appearances, all five of which came in victories with accompanying clean sheets. Rapid’s Isak Jansson tends to become more dangerous as the game wears on, with five of his last six goals coming after half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Ten of Rapid’s last 13 away matches have seen both teams score.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Peter Stavrinou[/i][/p]