The start of the Austrian Bundesliga is just around the corner. The 19th game day is coming and brings some interesting encounters with it. The kick-off encounter and the top game of the round between champions Red Bull Salzburg and LASK are on the program on Friday. The rest of the games will follow on Saturday and Sunday, including Altach meets Wiener Austria and Rapid meets WSG Tirol.
Red Bull Salzburg – LASK
Friday 19:00, Red Bulll Arena, referee: Harald Lechner
The start of the spring season promptly meets the Austrian Bundesliga with a hit game between the two best teams in the country. Master Red Bull Salzburg is going into this duel with a narrow lead of just two points and for the Bulls it is about staying ahead of the Upper Austrians after this encounter. The preparation of the Salzburg team was not without side noises after having to hand over two key players on the offensive with Minamino and Haaland. It will therefore be exciting to see how the bulls intend to compensate for these departures and which players can follow in the great footsteps. The Salzburg team successfully mastered the first competitive game and eliminated 3: 0 in the Amstetten Cup, which brought them into the semi-finals.
On the other hand, the LASK can also look back on a bear-heavy autumn, where despite triple loading in all competitions one stayed above average and was able to develop a great starting position for spring. The preparation was carried out without any major background noise, and the Linz staff could even increase in quality with the commitment of Husein Balic. The Upper Austrians also solved their task in the Cup and beat Graz in the top game against Sturm 2-0 on home soil, thus solving the ticket for the semi-finals. Now you want to finally crack the bulls in a game and emerge as the winner after you have sniffed at the three points several times, but could not make them.
– FC Red Bull Salzburg have been unbeaten in the Bundesliga against LASK for 5 duels (3 wins and 2 draws) and scored at least twice in each of these 5 duels – a total of 12 goals.
– With 42 points, LASK is 2nd in the table behind FC Red Bull Salzburg. No team from the first 18 games that had not been at the top of the table had won as many points so far.
– FC Red Bull Salzburg have been unbeaten in the Bundesliga for 53 home games – record. Salzburg received the last BL home defeat on November 27, 2016 by a 0-1 against Admira.
– The LASK won its first 9 away games this season in the Bundesliga, which had previously only been achieved by FK Austria Vienna 1985/86 (also 9 games).
– Both Jesse Marsch and Valerien Ismael won 13 of their first 18 games as coaches in the Bundesliga. Previously, only Josef Hickersberger managed this on the bench of FK Austria Vienna in 1993/94.
Last duel:
LASK 2: 2 Salzburg
Direct comparison since 74/75:
Games total: 111 (38 wins Salzburg, 40 draws, 33 wins LASK)
Injured / Peeling: Kristensen, Bernede, Köhn, Adeyemi / Nobody
Blocked: Nobody
At risk: Mwepu, Ramalho / Wiesinger, Trauner, Michorl
Next games: Austria-Salzburg / LASK-St.Pölten
SCR Altach – FK Austria Vienna
Saturday 5:00 p.m., Cashpoint Arena, referee: Manuel Schüttengruber
For the SCR Altach, the autumn season ended at an unfavorable time, the Vorarlbergers really got rolling towards the final spurt. The Altacher were able to win the last three encounters one after the other in a row and thus set themselves apart from the table cellar. The preparation phase was correspondingly quiet and relaxed and one could focus on improving the defensive game above all. This will also be urgently necessary, as Austria, one of the major clubs, has come to the country. However, the statistics are clear on the Altacher side, because in their home stadium they have been unbeaten against the Viennese for several years.
Austria also ended the autumn season with a positive temper. The last five competitive games were all unbeaten and thus built up a small series that you now want to defend in spring. This will also be urgently needed, as you have to make up seven points behind the master group. The preparation of the violets was satisfactory and not only could you win all the friendly matches, but you can also rely on the entire squad except for the long-term injuries Schoissengeyer. The Viennese will also need the best eleven players on the field to finally break through the negative series in Vorarlberg and take three points to the capital for a change – above all to keep the chance for the master group alive.
– The SCR Altach has won 3 home games in a row against FK Austria Wien. The club record of Altach in the Bundesliga stands on 4 home wins en suite – against SV Grödig and the WAC.
– SCR Altach has not conceded a goal in the last 3 home games in the Bundesliga against FK Austria Wien – for the first time. Altach have played 4 consecutive home games without conceding a goal against no team.
– The SCR Altach recently won 3 games in a row in the Bundesliga. Altach had last won so many victories in series under Damir Canadi, in November 2016.
– FK Austria Wien has been unbeaten in 5 Bundesliga games (2 wins, 3 draws). Austria last managed to do this from August to October 2017.
– Sidney Sam has prepared 5 goals straight since his Bundesliga debut on October 19, more than any other player in the same period.
Last duel:
Austria 2-0 Altach
Direct comparison since 74/75:
Games total: 15 (9 wins Altach, 2 draws, 4 wins Austria)
Injured / Peeling: Fischer, Meilinger, Netzer, Diakite / Schoissengeyr
Blocked: Thurnwald / Nobody
At risk: Anderson, Zwischenbrugger / Nobody
Next game: Mattersburg-Altach / Austria-Salzburg
Wolfsberger AC – TSV Hartberg
Saturday 17:00, Lavanttal Arena, referee: Robert Schörgenhofer
At Wolfsberger AC no stone has been left unturned in the past weeks and months and there have been some seismic shocks. The biggest was already in late autumn with the departure of head coach Struber, but his departure also had its after-effects in winter. On the one hand, a new trainer was introduced with Ferdinand Feldhofer, who is supposed to keep the Carinthian ship on course, on the other hand the Wolfsberger lost three key players with captain Sollbauer, Ritzmaier and Niangbo, who now have to be replaced. With the new additions Jojic, Viera and Dieng, some interesting players have been brought in, but it remains questionable whether they will be able to compensate for the departures. For Neo-Coach Feldhofer, the difficult task now lies in leading the Wolfsbergers to the European Cup despite the departures and continuing the success story.
In contrast, things were much quieter in tranquil Hartberg, where there were hardly any changes and the team remained largely together. Only Susic left the East Styrians, but instead U21 team player Lema joined Markus Schopp’s team on loan. For TSV Hartberg, the starting position and the goal for spring are clear: you don’t want to let the master group take away anymore and also play in the top team’s concert in the playoff. You want to take the first step in the away game at WAC, where a win could already be a big step towards achieving this goal.
– The WAC would fix participation in the master group with a win in this game.
– TSV Hartberg (Dario Tadic, Jodel Dossou) and RZ WAC (Anderson Niangbo, Christopher Wernitznig) are the only teams for which 2 players have already scored 2 joker goals.
– The WAC only conceded 6 goals according to standards – only the LASK (5) less this season in the Bundesliga.
– The WAC scored 11 goals this season in the Bundesliga per capita, peak. That is already more header goals than any of the 12 teams in the entire pre-season.
– From 1998 to 2001 Markus Schopp and Ferdinand Feldhofer worked together as a player at SK Sturm. During this time, the joint title win from 1998/99, as well as 3 participations in the Champions League group phase.
Last duel:
Hartberg 0: 2 WAC
Direct comparison since 74/75:
Games total: 3 (1 win WAC, 1 draw, 1 win Hartberg)
Injured / Peeling:
Blocked: Nobody
At risk: Nobody / salvation
Next game: WSG-WAC / Hartberg-Rapid
SK Sturm Graz – SV Mattersburg
Sunday 2:30 p.m., Merkur Arena, referee: Stefan Ebner
After a solid autumn, the SK Sturm Graz started the spring under the coach El Maestro in the summer with the expectation to fix the master group and subsequently have a say in the fight for 3rd place. In order to make this undertaking successful, not only should further preparation under the aegis of the trainer help, the Styrians also actively presented themselves on the transfer market. With Friesenbichler and Jäger, two interesting personal details were signed that will surely help the Grazer. However, Sturm was unable to make the first competitive game a success and you not only lost 0-2 to LASK, but also eliminated the cup. In the league you want to eradicate this and take a big step towards qualification for the master group.
SV Mattersburg would love to move in the SK Sturm regions, but instead the tough relegation battle is on the program. However, at the end of the autumn, the Burgenlanders celebrated an immensely important 3: 1 victory over the competitor WSG, which not only gave the red lantern, but also ended the endless negative series. This sense of achievement undoubtedly gave Mattersburg impetus for the preparation and it is now hoped that the coming relegation battle can be mastered accordingly. With a win in Graz, you could implement this motto with a strong exclamation mark and put your competitors under pressure.
– SK Sturm Graz and SV Mattersburg are dueling for the fourth time in a row at the spring start of the Bundesliga. Mattersburg remained undefeated (2 wins, one draw).
– SV Mattersburg has been unbeaten in the Bundesliga in the last 5 games at the start of a calendar year (4 of them against SK Sturm Graz) – 2 wins and 3 draws.
– SV Mattersburg has been unbeaten in the Bundesliga for three matches against SK Sturm Graz – for the first time since April 2017.
– SK Sturm Graz only conceded a goal in the opening quarter of an hour – fewer than any other team this season in the Bundesliga.
– SK Sturm Graz is about to celebrate an anniversary: since the Bundesliga was founded, the Graz team have so far conceded 299 times in BL home games.
Last duel:
Mattersburg 3: 3 storm
Direct comparison since 74/75:
Games total: 55 (20 wins Sturm, 22 draws, 13 wins Mattersburg)
Injured / Peeling: Kovacec, Walch, Cabrera, Jauregui / Gruber, Olatunji, Höller, Hart
Blocked: Nobody
At risk: Schrammel / Malic, Erhardt, Kuen, Miesenböck
Next game: Mattersburg-Altach / Admira storm
SKN St. Pölten – Admira Wacker
Sunday 14:30, NV Arena, referee: Alexander Harkam
No other team in the league longed for the winter break as the SKN St. Pölten did. After a transfer ban over several periods, the wolves were finally able to sign new players and thus provide a blood boost. And the SKN also took action and brought eight new players to the team in the hope of bringing more quality to the team. In the first competitive game of spring, however, this did not quite work out and the cup quarter-final was lost to Wacker Innsbruck on penalties, which meant that the sails had to be prematurely knocked out. Now they hope to do better at the start of the league and be able to keep a direct competitor at bay with a win.
On the other hand, the preparation time for the Admira was much calmer and more comfortable, but there were also some changes here. In order to prepare for the relegation battle, the people of southern Germany decided to add more personnel and to ensure quality supplies. With Markus Pink, Jung-min Kim and Mario Pavelic, three highly interesting personalities joined the team and are supposed to help the team. This will also be urgently needed, as you are currently in tenth place in the table and fighting against relegation. In order to be part of the Bundesliga again next season, a good spring is needed and with a win in St. Pölten you could put an exclamation mark in this direction.
– Admira won the first 3 games in the Bundesliga in 2019. Also in 2018 (3 of the first 4 BL games won) and 2017 (the first 7 BL games unbeaten), the Südstadt residents made a strong start to the calendar year.
– The SKN St. Pölten starts for the first time in the Bundesliga with a home game at the spring start.
– Admira remained undefeated in 9 of the last 10 duels in the Bundesliga against SKN St. Pölten (4 wins, 5 draws).
– The SKN St. Pölten scored 5 of his last 6 goals in the Bundesliga after dormant balls. Overall, St. Pölten scored two thirds of his goals, the highest proportion of all BL teams.
– Klaus Schmidt has won 5 games in the Bundesliga as a coach against SKN St. Pölten, more than against any other team.
Last duel:
Admira 1: 1 St.Pölten
Direct comparison since 74/75:
Games total: 33 (5 wins St.Pölten, 10 draws, 18 wins Admira)
Injured / Peeling:
Blocked: Nobody
At risk: Nobody / Lukacevic, Kerschbaum
Next game: LASK-St. St. Pölten / Admira storm
SK Rapid Vienna – WSG Tirol
Sunday 17:00, Allianz Stadium, referee: Markus Hameter
The SK Rapid Wien has undergone an interesting preparation, where there was a lot going on, especially in the player sector. The Senegalese storm hope Badj left the Hütteldorfer after just one year and the departure of Ljubicic was imminent before the transfer to the USA broke at the last moment. For this, Rapid brought with Kara and Petrovic two developable personal data, which one has committed from a perspective point of view. The preparation was not exactly optimal in terms of results, but you experimented a bit and the results seemed to be of secondary importance. Right at the start, the Hütteldorfer faces an obligatory task and with a good start you want to consolidate the third place in the table.
There was little or nothing to be seen at WSG Tirol in autumn of an euphoria of advancement, as is usually seen in newcomers to the league. The Tyroleans only got a measly 12 points in 18 rounds, six of which were only won against Austria. Accordingly, the last place in the table is also available and you run the risk of having to leave the top division after just one season. To prevent this, the decision was made to retrofit personnel and, among other things, committed none other than old star Stefan Maierhofer, who should inspire the Tyroleans with his mentality. In addition, some other interesting personalities came to the WSG with Koch, Soares and Petsos and it is hoped that the quality replenishment will keep the class. With the away game at Rapid, however, a very difficult opening match is imminent and winning the points would already be a great success for the Tyroleans.
– The SK Rapid Wien would fix the participation in the master group with a win against the WSG Tirol.
– SK Rapid Wien won the first leg against WSG Tirol 2-0. Rapid celebrated 6 wins in a row against Tyrolean teams in the Bundesliga and has not conceded in the last 4 of these duels.
– SK Rapid Wien scored 32 points from the first 18 games of the Bundesliga this season, 12 points more than at the same time in the previous season.
– Dietmar Kühbauer has won his last 9 Bundesliga games as a coach against teams from Tyrol and has kept no goals in the last 6.
– Stefan Maierhofer scored in 3 of his 5 away games in the Bundesliga at SK Rapid Vienna.
Last duel:
WSG 0: 2 Rapid
Direct comparison since 74/75:
Games total: 3 (2 Rapid wins, 1 WSG win)
Injured / Peeling:
Blocked: Nobody
At risk: Schwab, Hofmann, Fountas, Ullmann, Ljubicic / Buchacher, Svoboda. Rieder, Hager, Grgic
Next game: Hartberg-Rapid / WSG-WAC
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