Rapid Vienna v Aston Villa
Football : Europa League, 1st round 1st Leg
Thursday 19 August 2010 - Kickoff 5:45pm

This match is on TV

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Rapid Vienna

The smiles on the faces of the Rapid Vienna contingent at the Europa League draw disappeared as soon as Aston Villa were pulled out of the hat- I dont think this was due to the fact that had to play the West Midlands club, but more to do with the fact that it is a repeat of the fixture from last season which was won by the Austrians on away goals.

Rapid finished 3rd in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, 3 points behind the winners Salzburg and it is clear that they are focused on winning the title this season. The team finished with a 21-10-5 record, scoring 80 goals and conceding just 38. However, they were only 6-8-4 away from home which potentially cost them the title. After losing their first 2 League games this season, Rapid have picked up form with 2 consecutive wins over the two teams that finished above them last season.

The Austrians managed to beat Aston Villa over 2 legs last season, winning here 1-0. They went on to record a 1-1-1 home record in the Group Stages alongside Celtic, Hamburg and Hapoel Tel-Aviv but failed to progress further in the competition. Rapid have beaten both Suduvo and Beroe at home in this years competition already.

Team news is not available to me at this moment.

Possible Rapid Vienna Line Up: Hedl, Katzer, Patocka, Sonnleitner, Saurer, Hoffman, Kavlak, Heikkinen, Hinum, Kayhan and Jelovic

Aston Villa

Aston Villa put aside the turmoil that has engulfed the club over the last 10 days with the resignation of Martin O'Neill as manager and replaced it with a positive performance in their 3-0 dismantling of West Ham United on the opening day of the Premier League season. This game will be seen as a chance for revenge from last season and I would be surprised if Kevin McDonald, the man in temporary charge of the club, plays a weakened team here.

Villa finished in 6th place in the English Premier League last season for the 2nd consecutive season, but the unrest regarding transfer funds being made available for O'Neill had already started to surface. They finished the season with a 17-13-8 record and scored 52 goals in those matches while conceding 39.

Europe was a major let down for Aston Villa, both last season and generally under the stewardship of Martin O'Neill. The premature exit last season was seen as a positive for an assault on the Champions League places, but I find it hard to imagine that happening again. O'Neill had a habit of playing weakened sides in this competition which he found a chore rather than a blessing and it will be interesting to see how the new management approach this game.

James Milner's Summer long transfer to Manchester City is likely to be completed before this match kicks off with Stephen Ireland coming to Villa Park. Ireland is unlikely to start here and should make his debut against Newcastle United at the weekend. Gabby Agbonlahor is a doubt after missing the first game of the season. James Collins is also unlikely to play a part.

Possible Aston Villa Line Up: Friedal, Luke Young, Clarke, Dunne, Warnock, Ashley Young, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Downing, Albrighton and Carew (4-5-1)

Prediction

Rapid Vienna have really picked up some form of late after a disappointing start to their new Bundesliga campaign and should have received a real confidence boost after beating the top 2 in consecutive games. They did beat Villa here last season so know they have it within themselves to do so although I was not overly impressed with the reaction of their delegates at the draw ceremony.

Aston Villa see this as a chance to 'put that record straight' as Richard Dunne explained to the press since this draw was made. They played weaker teams in the past in this competition which makes them hard to predict, but I feel Kevin McDonald will not want an early European exit on his CV as he applies for the full time managerial post at Villa Park.

This is going to be a tough first leg for Villa who were hit with a goal inside the first minute last season when they came here. I expect a stronger Villa side here, and feel they will bring a positive result back to Villa Park this time. I am not convinced they can do enough to take the win here, and will play the draw.

The Pick :

Rapid Vienna 1-1 Aston Villa

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll have a shot at the DRAW here.