After nine wins in the first nine games in the domestic league, Salzburg go into the game with swollen chests of self-confidence. Coach Matthias Jaissle saw his team against a French top team but by no means in the role of favorites. “Lille has incredible quality, especially on the offensive. We have to be on our guard. All in all, Lille is a strong team that plays a lot of interesting patterns with the ball. We want to stop that and of course bring our style back onto the pitch . “
Since the penalty madness in Sevilla (1: 1), Salzburg almost ran out of central defenders. Jaissle reacted calmly to this publicly on Tuesday. “The squad brings quality across the board.” The defensive situation has also eased slightly. Three central defenders are missing in Oumar Solet, Kamil Piatkowski and Albert Vallci. With a fourth, Maximilian Wöber, things looked “pretty good” on Tuesday with regard to a comeback, as Jaissle revealed before the final training session. The coach wanted to “let the impressions of the last session still take effect”, but Wöber, who was last hit on the thigh, will at least be in the squad.
If Wöber does not play, Jerome Onguene and Bernardo should form the headquarters, as in the recent 2-0 win at WAC. Before that, Junuzovic is still missing as a structural provider in midfield due to his stubborn heel bruise. Offensive, Jaissle is spoiled for choice – and did not reveal his cards in advance. It is quite possible that in addition to the seeded Karim Adeyemi, Noah Okafor will again be able to prove his rising tendency, Benjamin Sesko and Junior Adamu initially sit on the bench.
In order to be the first ÖFB team to winter in the premier class since Sturm Graz in 2000, the “Bulls” in the evenly balanced Group G with Wolfsburg and Sevilla will have to win at home like against Lille. “We don’t see ourselves as favorites, but also not as outsiders. It’s a fifty-fifty game. I think anything is possible,” said Junuzovic on Monday evening on “Servus TV”. For himself, the situation in the role of the spectator is “quite difficult” at the moment. “The bruised bone pushed a few structures to the side and inflammation developed.”
Lille follow a similar style of play as Salzburg, said Junuzovic. “They are very aggressive, go for the second ball, have fast points in front. They are also vulnerable there. We will have our space and have scoring opportunities. You have to be determined and score the goals.”
Lille is not Liverpool or Atletico. But the five-time French champion also has well-known names in old master Burak Yilmaz, his strike partner Jonathan David, Timothy Weah (son of George Weah), Portugal veteran Jose Fonte or Renato Sanches. The latter is absent due to a knee injury. The team came slowly from the starting blocks after top performers and successful coach Christophe Galtier (at Nice) left the starting blocks. Eleven points from the first eight games do not mean a foray like the one Salzburg is laying down – and already 13 points behind Leader PSG. Most recently, the form curve showed up thanks to two victories in a row (against Reims and Strasbourg).
The defense – the showpiece in the championship year – has conceded 14 goals so far; in the preseason there were only three at this point. Ironically, at the beginning of the premier class against Wolfsburg, the only time this year was zero. The “Great Danes” could not be satisfied with that, despite the half-hour excess and a few chances they could not go beyond a 0-0. Lille has never played against an Austrian team. Salzburg’s record against French clubs is slightly positive with four wins, one draw and three defeats.
Against a team from the five largest leagues in Europe, Salzburg are still waiting for victory in the Champions League. “It’s not important to us,” said Andreas Ulmer. “We have already won the Champions League, we know how to do it. We want to implement that tomorrow.” Salzburg’s captain is also an endurance runner in the premier class. In the 13 games so far since defeating the CL curse, he has completed every minute. Before the Wednesday duel, the almost 36-year-old veteran said: “I think three points are possible, but we need a really good performance for that.” This means that Salzburg would keep their white vest on even after the 15th competitive game under Jaissle. On Tuesday lunchtime, 22,000 tickets were sold for the game.
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