Rapid will make the next attempt on Sunday (5 p.m. / live Sky) in the 20th round of the Bundesliga to end the series of failures once morest Red Bull Salzburg. Since the last win over the series champions on February 24, 2019, Rapid have had two draws and 14 defeats once morest Salzburg. Before that, the focus is on the fight for the master group in the duels WSG Tirol once morest LASK and Austria Klagenfurt once morest SCR Altach (2:30 p.m.).
Rapid can be sure of the support of their fans in the game once morest the “bulls”. There are not many tickets left. “We’re looking forward to playing once morest such a strong opponent in front of our fans,” said coach Zoran Barisic. The duel with the Salzburgers is an important location determination. “We want to know where we stand and where we need to improve.” The dreary record once morest Salzburg leaves Barisic cold. “The statistics don’t speak for us, of course, but the game starts at 0-0. I don’t care what happened in the past.” Nevertheless, the distribution of roles is clear. In addition to the long-term injuries, Rapid also has to do without Ferdy Druijf and Nicolas Kühn, who are suffering from muscle problems. The recently injured Marco Grüll and Oliver Strunz might be fit for the Salzburg match.
The anticipation of the league hit is also great in Salzburg. “Of course we know how important this game is, especially for our fans. We will approach the whole thing with concentration and motivation,” announced coach Matthias Jaissle. At the same time, the German warned: “Rapid has been very stable over the past few months and is also a well-formed team individually. But as always, we look primarily to ourselves and want to impose our style of play.” Salzburg captain Andreas Ulmer would play his 400th game in the Bundesliga if he played once morest Rapid – as the 35th player since the club was founded. The 37-year-old would have one match more than Austria’s footballer of the century Herbert Prohaska.
The WSG Tirol can already book the ticket for the top six three laps before the end of the basic round with a little help from the marksman. However, Thomas Silberberger did not want to attach any particular importance to the “match point” beforehand. “The game is as important as any other game,” emphasized the WSG coach. In any case, the WSG can go into the duel with LASK with a healthy degree of confidence, because the last three games have always been successful from the Tyrolean point of view. “The memories are of course good,” said Silberberger, who even saw “one of our best games” in the first leg in Linz. At that time there was a change to a rhombus in midfield for the first time, which remained an integral part from that point on and brought good results with it. The injured Thomas Sabitzer (broken cheekbone), Bror Blume (torn ankle ligaments) and Osarenren Okungbowa (thigh) as well as the suspended Raffael Behounek will be absent.
After a successful start in the spring – two wins and a draw are recorded – LASK already qualified for the desired master group. In the last three rounds of the regular season, Linz want to create a good starting position and not lose touch with Sturm Graz. “It’s our aim to take as many points as possible before the league split,” said coach Dietmar Kühbauer, whose team only lost one of the last eight league games. Compared to the recent appearance at the WSG, the coach calls for an increase. “We want to present ourselves better this time. That will also be necessary in order to be able to take something with us.” In terms of personnel, Kühbauer still has to do without the long-term injured Yannis Letard, Tobias Anselm, Jan Boller (all cruciate ligament) and Maksym Taloverov (cheekbone fracture).
Austria Klagenfurt tackle the last three rounds with a respectable win at Sturm Graz and currently two points behind sixth-placed Wiener Austria. The first step towards the top six should be once morest Altach who have been winless for a long time. “Our goal, as stated at the beginning of the season, is to stay in the league.” His team will try to stay organized, following the three rounds you will see what comes out, said coach Peter Pacult. He hopes for a similarly good performance as last week, where little was allowed, especially on the defensive. With the exception of Jonas Arweiler, who has been injured for a long time (metatarsal fracture), the coach has plenty of personnel to draw from. The Carinthians have won all three previous duels once morest Altach in the Bundesliga.
Altach has been waiting for a sense of achievement since October. The Vorarlbergers have only drawn two out of the last six Bundesliga games and are only two points ahead of bottom-placed Ried in the table. For coach Miroslav Klose it’s regarding flipping the switch. “We need positive experiences, and you can only get that through goals and games,” emphasized the World Cup record scorer, whose team has been waiting for their own goal for 435 minutes. “In certain situations we have to trust ourselves more and think more offensively. It’s regarding timing and courage.” But Klose wants to build on the performance in the goalless draw once morest WSG Tirol last week. In terms of personnel, the coach still has to do without Jan Zwischenbrugger. The regular captain is in advanced training, but an assignment is not yet an option. Jurica Jurcec is also unavailable due to a muscle injury.
