Preview: Genk vs. Rapid Vienna - prediction, team news, lineups

The final match of Group H will take place on Thursday night when Rapid Vienna travel to face Genk in what is a crucial match to determine who finishes in second place.

While the visitors cannot mathematically progress into the next round, this is a must-win match for the hosts who could potentially get into the knockout stage.

Match preview

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Right now Genk sit in third place as they trail Dinamo Zagreb by two points, meaning a victory is required if they stand any chance of progressing out of the group.

Even a win does not guarantee progress, as everything is down to the other result, but the squad will be hoping they can do everything on their side.

They head into this match in poor form as Genk have failed to win a match in their previous five fixtures across all competitions and that led to John van den Brom being fired at the start of the week.

This means the club head into this game without an official manager, adding to the pressure that is going to be on the team this Thursday.

Genk have only won once within Group H this season; however, that victory did take place against their upcoming opponents, which should bring some confidence into the squad.

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Rapid Vienna were beaten 1-0 in the opening fixture of their European campaign by the Belgian outfit, but it took until the 92nd minute for Paul Onuachu to find the back of the net.

Ferdinand Feldhofer may not be able to guide his team into the top two spots in the Europa League this season, but the club can overtake their opponents with a win, stopping them from finishing bottom.

However, they do not head into this game in strong form either as Rapid Vienna have only won one match in their previous six fixtures across all competitions.

They have only had a single victory in the Europa League so far, suffering four defeats as well, with just three goals being scored throughout their journey.

Because of that, there is not much confidence within the group to earn a positive result on Thursday, but due to how close their match with Genk was last time, it could prove to be another tight fixture.

Team News

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Without a manager at the moment the starting lineup could be different for Genk, who are in a desperate need to get back to winning ways on Thursday.

However, there is a fully-fit squad available and the focus offensively will be placed on Joseph Paintsil as he is set to lead the line for the Belgian outfit.

Maximilian Hofmann could be an option once again for Rapid Vienna following his spell on the sidelines with Covid-19, but that will depend on a negative test.

Bernhard Unger is also unavailable right now, which has been the case since the start of November with Paul Gartler having stepped in as the main goalkeeper for the Rapid Vienna.

Genk possible starting lineup:
Vandervoordt; Arteaga, McKenzie, Cuesta, Preciado; Hrosovsky, Heynen; Bongonda, Oyen, Thorstvedt; Paintsil

Rapid Vienna possible starting lineup:
Gartler; Stojkovic, Aiwu, Moormann, Ullmann; Petrovic, Ljubicic; Fountas, Knasmullner, Grull; Kara

We say: Genk 1-1 Rapid Vienna

Both teams come into this game with poor form in all competitions and the lack of drive that they have each shown lately could result in this match ending as a draw.

Sharing the points would guarantee that neither club continues in the Europa League, but with the lack of confidence that they have, it would be hard for either team to dominate this one.

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