FC Noah, who? The Rapid has been warned in the Conference League

Coach Robert Claus showed great respect for the Armenians, but he still had to Google the opponent. He focuses on his team's performance.

Rapid's goal on Thursday (6.45pm / ServusTV Live) against a largely unknown opponent until recently is to continue their recent run of success. The Hoteldorf team will meet Armenian club FC Noah from Yerevan in the conference league in front of their own fans, and if they win they will not only achieve their fourth official victory in a row, but will also take a big step closer to spending the winter in the tournament. European Cup.

Three weeks ago, Rapid cruised to a 2-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir – and another three points would likely be half the battle in the race for the final spot in the top 24 in the 36-club league stage. But coach Robert Claus warned against underestimating the Armenian runner-up. The German explained: “We expect a strong competitor that includes many legionnaires in the team, has high quality, and focuses on attack.” You also have to be careful in standard situations, says Klaus.

En route to the league stage, FC Noah survived four qualifying rounds, also eliminating established rivals such as AEK Athens and Ruzomberok. At the start of the main conference league competition, we recorded a 2-0 win in front of our home fans over Mladá Boleslav. Klaus became aware of Noah's presence when the AEK was turned off. “These results made people sit up and take notice,” the 39-year-old said.

The club was founded only in 2017 as FC Artsakh. Two years later, the name was changed to FC Noah – based on Noah's Ark, which is said to have been stranded on Mount Ararat, about 20 kilometers from Yerevan. The team includes players from Africa, South America and various European countries who excel at the international level, especially in local matches. There were two defeats and one draw away from home in the European Cup. “That's a certain contradiction,” Klaus said.

His side go into the match with the intention of going nine games unbeaten, with 17,500 tickets sold by lunchtime on Wednesday. “We have self-confidence. It is now important to put in a performance sufficient to win,” said Klaus. A performance like Sunday’s in the second half of a 2-1 win over Hartberg probably won’t be enough. “That was a warning sign that we don’t have enough,” said Klaus. We can play this way.”

No major changes are expected regarding personnel. Louis Schwab and Isak Jansson are still unavailable, but Thierry Gale could return to the professional squad. Another candidate is summer new arrival Jakob Schuler, who is also fit again and can hope to be nominated for the Rapids' squad for the first time.