AEL Limassol welcome Austria Wien to Cyprus for the second leg of their 2017/18 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round match.The first leg ended 0-0 in Austria and while this gives a slight advantage to Limassol who have the second leg at home, any away goal for Austria Wien will be huge and gives them the advantage.
Limassol have reached the group stages of the Europa League once in their history, back in 2012/13 and finished bottom of their group. Since then they have reached the playoff stage once, losing out to Tottenham Hotspur in 2014/15.
Austria Wien have reached the final of a major European competition once, losing to Anderlecht in the Cup Winners’ Cup final of 1977/78. Recently Austria Wien have reached the group stages of the Champions League in 2013/14 but lost out in the playoff stages of the Europa League last season.
Limassol Form
Limassol are undefeated in their last 5 Europa League games, all of which have come in this season’s competition. They have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5 games, with the draw coming in the first leg of this tie in Austria. Defensively Limassol have been very good, conceding only 1 goal in their 5 Europa League games this season and keeping 4 clean sheets.
At home, they have lost 2 of the last 7 Europa League matches, with 4 wins and 1 draw. Possibly the best result in their history came in the 2012/13 competition when Limassol defeated Marseille 3-0 at home.
Austria Wien Form
The Austrian domestic season is back under way and Austria Wien have made a poor start, losing their 2 games. Following the 0-0 home draw with Limassol, Austria Wien lost 3-2 at home to Sturm Graz.
In Europa League competition, Austria Wien have failed to win any of their previous 6 games, with 3 draws and 3 defeats. They have lost 3 of their last 4 in the competition.
However, away from home Austria Wien have lost only 1 of their last 6 Europa League games. There have been good wins in Astra and Rosenborg plus as an entertaining 3-3 draw at Roma. Austria Wien have scored at least 1 goal in each of their last 9 away Europa League games.
Team News
Limassol are likely to start the match with Mikel Arruabarrena and Mesca in attack, with support from Brazilian Arthur in midfield. Austria Wien will be looking towards Kevin Friesenbichler, Christoph Monschein and Felipe Pires to score the crucial away goal.
Top Betting tips
There wasn’t a great deal to split the teams in the first leg and the second leg is set to follow a similar pattern. However, with home advantage and the stronger recent record in the Europa League, Limassol must be slight favourites and can be backed at 6/4 with Ladbrokes.
The one glimmer of hope for Austria Wien is their goal scoring record away from home in the Europa League. If their run of form continues, they should get a goal in this game but it may not be enough to see them through. Limassol to win and both teams to score is 9/2 with William Hill. Over 2.5 goals also makes a good bet in this game and is on offer at 23/20 with Ladbrokes.