Latest Rapid Vienna v Shamrock Rovers team news and how to watch this Europa Conference League clash

Stephen Bradley admits Rapid Vienna will be Shamrock Rovers’ toughest test in Europe this year.

And even more so now that the Hoops are out of season, even if they are within touching distance of becoming the first Irish side to reach the knockout stages.

As midfielder Gary O’Neill noted in Vienna last night, the Hoops have been on the go since December 18 last year when they reported back for pre-season training.

READ MORE Ambitious Bohemians to host Shamrock Rovers at Aviva Stadium on opening weekend of the new season

A year on, and minus the league trophy they won for four seasons running, they will be playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 19 with little or no let up in between.

Hoops boss Bradley intends giving his players some down time after that game, but not for long - not with a hectic schedule quickly unfolding before them.

Not only will Rovers be plotting for the start of a new league season that incorporates a curtain raiser at Aviva Stadium against Bohs, but European knockout football too.

They have seven points from their three games to date and that leaves them in a good position to progress with three games to go.

Bradley knows how tough it will be to add to that haul tonight against seasoned performers who are in-season and boast three wins from three in this competition.

“It’s not ideal because we would like to have domestic competitive games to keep the mind sharper, but we all know our season is what it is,” he said.

“But I’d much rather be sitting here coming to a stadium like this playing a game like this than sitting at home on TV watching the games tonight or tomorrow night.

“This is what we want but it’s going to be a difficult game and we understand that as they’re a good team with a clear identity in how they play.

“They try to control the midfield with a lot of bodies and dominate that area of the pitch, but we try to do that too so it’s going to be an interesting battle.

“At times it’s going to be difficult for us, but hopefully we can show our personality, our ability and see where it takes us.”

A crowd of 22,000 is expected at the 28,000-capacity Allianz Stadion, located on the west side of Vienna, about half an hour by train from the heart of the capital.

700 Rovers fans have made the trip to Austria as Rovers look to take another step towards the history books by extending their season into next year’s.

Bradley, who turned 40 last week, did afford his team a little bit of time off over the last week or two.

But Rovers warmed up for this clash with two friendlies against HJK Helsinki in Dublin last week and midfield ace O’Neill said: “It’s a bit of a weird situation to be in.

“It’s a long season but there’s a space after the Chelsea game where there’s maybe two or three weeks to take off and after that, it’s back into pre-season.

‘But I can’t imagine you’re going to be going into the dressing room with lads complaining about finishing off with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 19.

“It will create a bit more of a buzz going into next season, righting some wrongs.”

And O’Neill admits missing out on the league title and seeing Shelbourne clinch the trophy on the final day still eats away at him and his team-mates.

“Naturally enough the mind wanders to points in the season where we dropped points, or where it took us a while to put two or three wins together which is rare for us,” he said.

“But now we’re in an incredible place, the end of November with seven points in the Europa Conference League and three more really tough games to come.”

Where is Rapid Vienna v Shamrock Rovers on?

The game takes place at Allianz Stadion in Vienna. A crowd of 22,000 is expected, 700 of them Shamrock Rovers fans.

What time is kick-off?

The game kicks off at 9.00pm local time, or 8.00pm in Ireland.

What TV channel is it on?

It is being shown live on Premier Sports in Ireland or TNT Sports in the UK

Betting odss

Rapid Vienna 3/11, Draw 11/2, Shamrock Rovers 12/1

Team News

The Hoops are likely to be without Graham Burke who took some part in pre-match training at the match stadium, only for Stephen Bradley to admit the game was likely to come too soon for him. Aaron McEneff and Rory Gaffney won't play again this season and Sean Hoare and Danny Mandroiu are still out

Probable teams

Rapid Vienna (4-4-2): Held, Bockle, Cvetkovic, Raox-Yao, Auer; Seidl, Sangare, Grgic, Schaub; Burgsteller, Beljo

Shamrock Rovers: (3-4-2-1): Pohls; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Burns, O'Neill, Poom, Honohan; Watts, Farrugia; Kenny

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