Preview
LiveScoresXSKN ST. Polten host Rapid Wien II on 16 October in the 2. Liga, and the form gap between the two sides is hard to ignore. Rapid Wien II have lost their last five matches in a row, scoring just four goals and conceding fifteen along the way. Their most recent defeat came at home to Wacker Innsbruck on 10 October, a 1–2 loss that extended the run to five straight defeats. Before that, they were beaten 4–1 away to Austria Vienna (Am) on 20 September, and had already fallen to First Vienna 0–2 at home on 11 September. The pattern is consistent: Rapid Wien II are leaking goals and struggling to find the net.
SKN ST. Polten, by contrast, sit comfortably in their own record at home. Over their last 20 home games, they have won 9, drawn 4 and lost 7, conceding just 0.9 goals per game and keeping 9 clean sheets. Their most recent home result was a 2–1 win over Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz on 19 September, and before that a 1–0 victory over Austria Salzburg on 28 August. The 0–3 cup defeat to Red Bull Salzburg on 6 September is the only blemish in that home stretch.
The head-to-head tells a one-sided story. SKN ST. Polten have won 7 of the 8 meetings between these two sides, with Rapid Wien II managing a single victory. The most recent meeting, at SKN ST. Polten's ground on 6 March, ended 4–0 to the hosts. At this venue, SKN ST. Polten have won all three meetings against Rapid Wien II (4–0, 3–1, and 1–0), with the two earlier results dating from previous seasons.
The counter-argument is that SKN ST. Polten are not in perfect form themselves. They lost 1–3 to First Vienna on 9 October, just seven days before this fixture, and their last 10 games across all venues show 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses. Their scoring output has dipped to 0.8 goals per game over that stretch, and they have failed to score in 5 of those 10. Rapid Wien II's 20-game away record does include 9 wins, though that span covers 12 months and the older results dilute the picture.
Key Points:
- Rapid Wien II have lost their last 5 games, scoring 4 and conceding 15
- SKN ST. Polten won 4–0 at home against Rapid Wien II on 6 March
- SKN ST. Polten's home record: 9W 4D 7L in 20 games, 0.9 conceded per game
- Rapid Wien II's away record: 9W 1D 10L in 20 games, 1.7 conceded per game
- SKN ST. Polten lost their most recent game 1–3 to First Vienna on 9 October
The evidence points firmly to SKN ST. Polten. Rapid Wien II's five-game losing streak, combined with SKN's solid home record and dominant head-to-head, makes the home win the clear pick. I rate SKN ST. Polten's chance of winning at around 70%, which sits above the market's 65.79% implied probability on the 1.52 price.