Legia Warsaw will be looking to claim a first leg advantage when they host Austria Vienna in their Europa Conference League third round qualifier. With both teams in good form lately, a closely fought encounter is expected, although Legia's impressive home form could give them the edge here.
Legia Warsaw overcame Kazakh side Ordabasy 5-4 on aggregate to book their place in the third round of the Europa Conference League. Having been held to a 2-2 draw in the first meeting, they returned home for a 3-2 triumph in the second leg.
Conceding four goals across both matches will be troubling for manager Kosta Runjaic but the results mean Legia Warsaw are now unbeaten in their last 10 matches across all competitions. They have claimed eight wins in that run and head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 3-0 victory over Ruch Churzow in a domestic fixture last weekend.
One thing that will give Legia Warsaw plenty of confidence is their record at the Polish Army Stadium which has not tasted defeat in over a year. They are currently on an eight-match winning run in front of their fans, scoring at least two goals in each of those wins.
Austria Vienna did the double over Bosnian side Borac Banja Luka in the previous round to secure a place in Thursday’s clash. They picked up a 1-0 home victory in the first meeting before claiming a 2-1 win in the return fixture in Bosnia.
The Austrians travel to the Polish Army Stadium in good form having lost just once in their last 13 marches across all competitions. They have claimed four wins in the last five matches in that run, including a 2-0 victory over Austria Lustenau in a domestic fixture last weekend.
That result highlights a solid record for Austria Vienna on their travels having won their last four away matches. However, things are slightly worse on their Conference League travels as they had lost four straight away matches in the competition prior to that win at Borac Banja Luka.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Legia Warsaw as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 8/11 by 10bet. A victory for Austria Vienna is valued at 4/1 by BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 29/10 by William Hill.
Head to head
Austria Vienna have never lost to Legia Warsaw, claiming three wins and a draw from four previous matches. However, their most recent meeting was a Europa League clash back in 2006 which ended 1-0 in favour of the Austrians.
Players to watch
Tomas Pekhart has made a flying start to the season for Legia Warsaw and has scored six goals in his last four matches across all competitions. The striker usually has support from Marc Gual and both men can combine to produce over 1.5 goals for the hosts at 7/10 with William Hill.
Austria Vienna can also hold their own going forward and will look to Andreas Gruber, who has scored three goals in his last two matches. With Muharem Huskovic providing support in attack, the Austrians could be expected to produce over 0.5 goals at 1/2 with BetVictor.
Anything else catch the eye?
Legia Warsaw and Austria Vienna have plenty of attacking quality and both teams can be backed to score at 8/11 with Unibet. Legia saw over 3.5 goals in their previous two Conference League matches and a repeat is priced at 7/4 by bet365 while William Hill is offering odds of 8/11 for over 2.5 goals.
The Polish side has scored in both halves in their last three home matches and can be set for a similar outcome at 13/8 with bet365.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Legia Warsaw and Austria Vienna will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Legia Warsaw vs Austria Vienna prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware
This fixture screams bookings for me but unfortunately no firms are offering any card markets. If anyone sees any card bets on offer for this match, let me know.