Defender Kevin Wimmer is backing the Rapid Vienna fans to drown out their West Ham counterparts during tonight’s Europa League clash at the London Stadium, speaking to Salzburger Nachricthen.
Perhaps this is a classic case of an under-pressure team playing to the gallery.
Rapid Vienna have won just one of their past six games, slipping to second from bottom in the Austrian league.
And deep down, coach Dietmar Kuhbauer will know a miserable run of form is unlikely to be broken at one of the most well-drilled and well-coached sides in British football.
Inspired by the domineering Declan Rice, West Ham swept aside Dinamo Zagreb on match-day one, either side of creditable wins at Manchester United and Leeds.
And if the recent trip to Croatia is anything to go by, David Moyes is unlikely to shuffle his pack too much when Rapid come to town. Expect Rice, Tomas Soucek and the irrepressible Michail Antonio to keep their place in a strong starting XI.
West Ham look to make it two Europa League wins in a row vs Rapid Vienna
“Despite our difficult situation in the league at the moment, the fans are giving us great support,” said Kuhbauer, whose side lost 4-1 to Arsenal on their most recent trip to London.
“We’ll do everything we can to give (West Ham) a good game.
“I think the Rapid fans are more fun than West Ham’s, we can all look forward to that,” adds Wimmer, the one-time Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City defender now plying his trade back home in Austria.
Wimmer is mistaken, however, if he thinks West Ham supporters won’t be in full voice for their first home game in proper European competition since hosting Palermo at Upton Park in 2006.
Thursday night football may not be appreciated by every supporter but when you’ve waited 15 years for a European adventure, group-stage trips to Croatia and Austria get the blood pumping.
Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun and, erm, Tyrone Mears featured in that 1-0 defeat to Palermo. That gives you an idea how much water has passed under the bridge since then.
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