Bundesliga
Game plan and table
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Bundesliga, 27th round
Sunday, 2.30 p.m.:
Austria – Salzburg
Generali Arena, SR Ciochirca
Possible lineups:
Austria: Pentz – Ivkic, Mühl, Schoissengeyr, Galvao, Suttner – Martel, Braunöder, Fischer – Jukic, Djuricin
Salzburg: Köhn – Kristensen, Solet, Wöber, Ulmer – Capaldo, Camara, Sucic, N. Seiwald – Adeyemi, Okafor
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“Of course it’s disappointing when I sit here and don’t get many questions about the sporting area,” said Schmid. “But for us it is important that we focus on the task that we can influence. We’re going to try to give it our all in the remaining six games, then it will be a successful season that will be talked about for a long time to come.”
First two duels close to Salzburg
The team “didn’t react at all” to the license issue, according to Schmid. He takes that as a good sign. The two previous duels of the season give the Violets courage, both of which only narrowly went 1-0 to Salzburg thanks to goals from Karim Adeyemi. “The boys are dying to play, they haven’t forgotten the close defeats.”
Austria’s seven-game unbeaten streak ended in the tight 0-1 draw in Graz. Schmid is aware that his team has to play at the top level against the “Champions League team”, but according to him the task is still a nice one. “It’s fantastic for our boys, they can play against the best in the league, that’s important for the development of our team.” Austria have won the last four duels since a 2-2 at home in February 2020 with a goal difference of 1 :7 lost. In the past 26 league duels, only two wins have been achieved. Salzburg’s last loss of points in the championship group (1:1 WAC) was eight games ago.
Sturm wants to keep Rapid at a distance
In the Merkur Arena, the focus is not on the race for first place, but rather that for second place. With six laps to go, Sturm is five points ahead of Rapid in second place, followed by Austria one point behind. The runners-up will start in the Champions League qualifier in the summer, the third will have a place in the Europa League play-off if Salzburg wins the cup final against Ried. On the other hand, an arduous Conference League qualification awaits fourth.
Bundesliga, 27th round
Sunday, 2.30 p.m.:
Sturm – Rapid
Mercury Arena, SR Kijas
Possible lineups:
Sturm: Siebenhandl – Gazibegovic, Affengruber, Wüthrich, Dante – Gorenc-Stankovic, Sarkaria, Kiteishvili, Prass – Jantscher, Höjlund
Rapid: Hedl – Stojkovic, Aiwu, K. Wimmer, Moormann – Grahovac, Ljubicic – Schick, Demir, Grüll – Zimmermann
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It is therefore obvious that Rapid coach Ferdinand Feldhofer is striving for the high table regions. “The further ahead, the better,” said the ex-ÖFB team player. However, Feldhofer sees Graz in a better starting position in the fight for second place. “It seems so,” said the former defender when asked whether Sturm was currently the second force in Austria. “You’ve been in this position for a long time, you initiated the upheaval, the new path, earlier.”
Nevertheless Feldhofer sees good chances for his squad. “We certainly haven’t gotten worse since the last game against Sturm (2-2 in February in Graz, note), quite the opposite. Everything is possible on Sunday, I am very confident that we can also win in Graz.”
Home win against WAC gives Rapid strength
The 2-1 win over the WAC on Sunday brought additional self-confidence. “We received a lot of praise after the last game. The way we go is rewarded. There can be strength again together with our fans, so that we stand for success and victories again,” explained Feldhofer.
The personnel situation at Rapid has recently eased slightly, with Ferdy Druijf returning to the squad alongside Marco Grüll, who was suspended. However, another player, not named but also infected with Covid-19, has to take a back seat to training for safety reasons. In addition, seven players are still injured, including goalie Paul Gartler, who is expected to return next week. Christopher Dibon will be there as in the previous week. “He is an extremely important piece of the puzzle and can not only help us on the pitch,” Feldhofer said of the veteran.
The rapid coach is now returning to his former place of work for the umpteenth time. “It’s not really anything special anymore, it’s been so often now,” said the former WAC coach, who spent eleven years as a player with the “Blackys”.
Sturm hopes for a sold-out house
By Friday afternoon, 14,000 of the 15,400 tickets had been sold for the game, with Sturm hoping for the first sold-out home match in a long time. “Games against Rapid are always something special,” said coach Christian Ilzer. According to the Styrian, he expects a match with “many duels, high intensity and tough duels”. The last showdown so far was a “speed fight”. “Every meter was fought over there, and I’m counting on the same on Sunday. Two teams meet that work similarly actively against the ball, but also want to put their game on the pitch,” explained Ilzer.
Rapid’s victory over the WAC despite 17 failures commanded respect from the former Austria supervisor. “They managed the difficult personnel situation very well. The starting XI also showed the quality of Rapid’s squad.”
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