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Upper Austria Derby is particularly explosive
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Rapid was “a very tough nut to crack,” reported the TSV coach. “We’re up against very good opponents who have become extremely stable. But we go there to show ourselves from our best side and play a good game, ”announced the Styrian. His team took four wins and one draw from the last five rounds.
Austria in Graz on three counters
For Austria, the starting position could not be clearer before the trip to Graz. Anything but a complete success at Sturm would mean for the Viennese with the end of hopes for the leap into the championship group. Even with full successes in the final two rounds of the basic round – next week it will be against the WAC at home – Austria is dependent on outside help.
In the best case, the violets would even be in the hoped-for sixth place on Sunday evening with an away win. For that Hartberg would have to lose at Rapid and WSG Tirol would not have to win in Wolfsberg. Austria’s General Manager Peter Stöger underlined the essentials: “The probability is high that we will have to win twice to still have a chance at the championship group.”
Sunday, 5 p.m .:
Sturm – Austria
Graz, Merkur Arena
Possible setups:
Sturm: Siebenhandl – Ingolitsch, Nemeth, Gorenc Stankovic, Dante – Hierländer, Jäger, Ljubic, Kuen – Yeboah, Jantscher
Austria: Pentz – Zwierschitz, Schösswendter, Palmer-Brown, Poulsen – Martel – Teigl, Fitz, Sarkaria – Pichler, Djuricin
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The first season duel in Vienna went 4-0 to the Styrians. Sturm scored three goals from the 70th minute after Austria was decimated to Dominik Fitz after red. Stöger therefore did not necessarily see the game as a benchmark. “We are now more stable in our game than in our first duel with Sturm,” he said. He expects “a completely open game” on Sunday. This is also made clear by the latest results: In the second half of the season Austria collected 15 points, two more than Sturm.
Christian Ilzer reacted rather cautiously to questions about Austria before seeing his former protégés again. The coaching team deals with the opponent, of course, but he doesn’t want to go into it too much. “I have enough to do with my team. We want to have a really good game on Sunday, that’s what my focus is on, ”said Ilzer, who was on the sidelines with the Viennese a year ago. “The first duel this season was more explosive for me personally. Now it’s a game like any other and it felt like an eternity ago, ”he said about his personal feelings before the game.
Back in Graz
After the last move to Klagenfurt, Sturm is allowed to compete again in the local Merkur Arena. As a first step, the lawn was repaired in the harder-worn areas. The contract extensions with Jakob Jantscher and Stefan Hierländer were also good customers this week. The experienced duo, who are part of the starting eleven, will stay until 2023 for the time being. “That shows how well the club works, that open questions are resolved very quickly,” said Ilzer.
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Admira is not a stumbling block for Salzburg
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As fourth, Sturm is currently four points behind LASK, and with a five-point lead from below, there is no danger for the time being. Looking at recent performances – the Graz team recently scored 1-1 at WSG Tirol thanks to Kelvin Yeboah’s late goal – Ilzer wished for “more clarity in the game”. “To keep the quality of the actions over 90 minutes. We’re still hanging there at the moment, ”he said. However, reducing the intensity is not an issue in this regard.
In terms of personnel, Gregory Wüthrich and Otar Kiteishvili partly returned to team training after Sturm, but Austria is still too early for the duo. For the Viennese, the use of top scorer Benedikt Pichler (six goals), who last had to pause in the 0-0 derby against Rapid, was still questionable. Left-back Andreas Poulsen could make his comeback.
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