Inter Milan vs Rapid Vienna Predictions

Inter Milan take a 1-0 lead into the 2nd leg of their Europa League tie against Austrian side Rapid Vienna on Thursday, and with an away goal and a clean sheet to their name, the Italians are expected to progress through to the last sixteen without too much trouble. The visitors are having a disappointing season domestically, sitting just eighth in the Austrian Bundesliga and after losing the home leg of this Europa League tie, they appear to be heading out of Europe.

Inter Milan claimed a 2-1 win at home against Sampdoria on Sunday, with all of the games goals arriving in the space of five second half minutes. Italian full back D’Ambrosio broke the deadlock in the seventy-third minute, but Sampdoria responded well and were back on level terms two minutes later through Gabbiadini. Inter restored their one-goal lead just three minutes later thanks to Nainggolan’s third league goal of the campaign, and that proved enough for the hosts to claim all three points. Rapid Vienna recorded a 5-2 win over Hartberg in the Austrian Cup on Sunday to book their place in the Semi-Finals against LASK, with Pavlović and Murg both helping themselves to a brace. Inter Milan were the better side during the 1st leg in Vienna, with 64% of the overall possession and twice as many shots as their hosts, but needed a thirty-ninth minute penalty from Lautaro Martínez to establish a narrow lead heading into Thursday’s 2nd leg.

We’re expecting another low scoring affair between these two teams in Thursday’s 2nd leg, but expect Inter Milan to progress through to the next round of the Europa League fairly comfortably in the end. The hosts have now won their last three games on the run, keeping two clean sheets during that period, while Rapid Vienna have lost two of their last three competitive matches. Five of Inter Milan’s last six matches have produced under 2.5 goals, with the only exception being Sunday’s 2-1 win over Sampdoria. Four of Rapid Vienna’s last six matches have also seen under 2.5 goals scored and they couldn’t find a way past the Inter Milan defence in their own backyard, which suggests they will struggle even more in Italy. The hosts are the better team on paper and test themselves against much stronger opposition on a regular basis, which is why we believe Inter Milan will win 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate against Rapid Vienna.

Argentine striker Icardi scored four goals in the Champions League for Inter Milan this season, but is yet to open his account in the Europa League after missing out on the 1st leg against Rapid Vienna. Knasmüllner has four goals in Europe this season, but failed to take his chances against Inter Milan last time out and will be hoping to make amends on Thursday. We’re confident that under 2.5 goals will be scored in Thursday’s 2nd leg, and have backed Inter Milan to win the game 2-0. The hosts proved they could handle everything Rapid Vienna had to throw at them in the 1st leg and could welcome back top scorer Icardi after injury. Inter Milan don’t score too many goals, but they don’t let many in either and that’s why we’ve backed a 2-0 win for the Serie A side on Thursday.