Rapid in the derby against negative series – Salzburg again at the WAC
The 335th Viennese football derby on Sunday (5 p.m.) offers Rapid the opportunity to end a series of failures against arch-rivals Austria. There hasn’t been a win in the previous eight duels in the Allianz Stadium. In the second round of the Bundesliga championship group, Salzburg is once again a guest at Wolfsberger AC, who narrowly won the cup semifinals. Sturm Graz welcomes Austria Klagenfurt. In the qualifying group, LASK has to go to Hartberg (2:30 p.m. each time).
Rapid’s derby record at the new stadium stands at five draws and three defeats, and now the aim is to get their first win at the new home. It shouldn’t fail because of the audience’s support – all 26,000 tickets were sold quickly on Friday afternoon. The reason for the rush is likely to be the rising form curve of both teams. Rapid has won the last three league games, Austria even travels to the west of the federal capital with the confidence of five wins in a row.
“People have been waiting for a derby like this for a long time, where both meet at such a good level,” said Rapid coach Ferdinand Feldhofer. According to the Styrian, a tingling sensation has been felt throughout the club for days – both in the environment and among the players. “It was an easy week for me. The team is highly motivated, reliable and goal-oriented,” said Feldhofer. Rapid is currently fifth in the table, one point behind second-placed Austria.
Manfred Schmid is also looking forward to the derby – even though the Austria coach may have to watch the game on TV. The 51-year-old is currently in corona quarantine, he followed the training sessions via live broadcasts and would also be connected to his team by phone on Sunday. The Viennese expects a game at eye level, sees no real favorites and wants a positive outcome for Austria. “I hope that we can continue both series,” said Schmid, referring to the five wins in a row and eight games without defeat at the Allianz Stadium.
Red Bull Salzburg are fighting for their second away win in five days against WAC. After the defending champion won the soccer cup semifinals on penalties on Wednesday, it should now work out in the Bundesliga championship group with the next win in the Lavanttal Arena on Sunday. However, coach Matthias Jaissle warned: “We need a top performance if we want to take the three points.”
Salzburg have won their last four competition games in Wolfsberg and have only lost two of their last 27 matches against the Carinthians in the league. On the other hand, WAC has recently been very strong at home – coach Robin Dutt’s team has won their last six Bundesliga home games. According to Dutt, the bitter cup end against the series champion is no longer an issue. “We have to get this over with quickly, it’s over. It’s also less about revenge on Sunday, it’s just about needing points,” said the German. The WAC is on 18 points on par with Rapid and Sturm Graz.
Sturm received Austria Klagenfurt in the Merkur Arena on Sunday. Both teams started with defeats in the championship group and then saw wrong decisions by the referees, especially in Graz the double penalty intervention by the VAR ensured a continuing discussion of the rules even days after the 0:1 in Salzburg. Sturm coach Christian Ilzer has tried in the past few days to “accept and tick off” the referee’s decisions. He called for more efficiency and consistency for the home game against Klagenfurt.
Peter Pacult showed no fear, but great respect for Sturm. In comparison to Rapid (1: 3), Sturm come “once again with a different force and playful quality”, stated Klagenfurt’s coach. “We have to be willing to work very hard, accept the duels, run a lot, defend consistently and with concentration.” Pacult has to make at least two changes to his starting eleven. With Turgay Gemicibasi (midfield) and Nicolas Wimmer (defense) two suspended key players are missing. Klagenfurt is currently 15 points at the end of the championship group table.
A game in the qualifying group is also on the program on Sunday: After being eliminated from the Conference League, LASK is now only concentrating on the Bundesliga. The half-dozen goals in the 6-0 win against WSG Tirol at the start of the qualifying group are to be followed by more goals in East Styria. The Linzers could underline their status as the best team in the bottom half of the table with a win at TSV Hartberg. After the matte draw in Altach, the Hartbergers are hoping for their first win under neo-coach Klaus Schmidt.