Rapid Vienna v West Ham betting tips: Hammers can nail top spot
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Preview and odds for Thursday’s Europa League match
West Ham’s unbeaten run ended at the weekend but they hope to get back to winning ways in Austria as we pick out some Rapid Vienna v West Ham betting tips.
The 1-0 loss at Wolves on Saturday was a first defeat in eight matches for David Moyes’ men, who will win the group with a victory here or a draw if Dinamo Zagreb fail to beat Genk.
Thursday match, which will be played behind closed doors due to Austria’s national lockdown, kicks off at 5.45pm and is live on BT Sport.
Rapid Vienna v West Ham match odds
West Ham fans were banned from attending the game in Austria but the lockdown means Rapid have lost any advantage they would have had.
That is a further boost for the visitors who are clear favourites at 3/5 to get the win they need to clinch top spot with a match to spare.
They suffered their first away defeat in the Premier League since April at the weekend, though, when Raul Jimenez scored the only goal at Molineux.
Forward Michail Antonio, who fired off target as the Hammers sought an equaliser, has now scored only once in his last eight appearances for the club, although he did net twice for Jamaica during the international break just gone.
It is in defence where West Ham have been most impressive during their Europa League campaign. They won their first three matches to nil before having to settle for a 2-2 draw at Genk three weeks ago.
Another win to nil is an option for Rapid Vienna v West Ham betting tips at 19/10 while under 2.5 goals is 23/20.
Rapid are bottom of the group with just one win which was a 2-1 victory at home to Dinamo Zagreb but a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture has left them with an uphill battle to stay in Europe.
They are having a disappointing season in Austria too, where they are sixth in a 12-team division, so odds of 9/2 for a home win are understandable while the draw is 3/1.
Rapid Vienna v West Ham head-to-head
September’s meeting between these teams was West Ham’s first home Europa League group-stage match and they marked the occasion with a 2-0 win.
Declan Rice struck in the first half to make it two goals in two continental outings for him and Said Benrahma scored in stoppage time to wrap up the victory.
Rice almost opened the scoring after eight minutes when a glancing header from Aaron Cresswell’s free-kick came off the base of the far post and 15 minutes later the dominant Hammers were denied by the other post following Craig Dawson’s thumping header from a Cresswell corner.
Another 2-0 win for the Hammers can be backed at 15/2 in Rapid Vienna v West Ham betting tips.
Rapid Vienna v West Ham key battles
Benrahma was West Ham’s main attacking threat against Genk earlier this month when his second-half brace helped secure a point.
Having also scored in the home game against Rapid, he looks a decent option at 13/2 to score first and he is 16/1 for another double.
West Ham’s defence has been weakened by the loss of Angelo Ogbonna to injury and both teams to score is priced at 4/6.
All odds and markets are correct at the time of publication
