2024-02-16 04:07:28
Blau-Weiß Linz has already become a stumbling block for defending champions Red Bull Salzburg in the Bundesliga season. On Saturday (5 p.m./live Sky), the league leaders will be visiting the Hofmann Personal Stadium for the first time and want to do better than the 0-1 home defeat on September 23, 2023. That was Salzburg’s first league defeat after 37 unbeaten seasons Play. It remains to be seen whether Linz can end the Bulls’ long away streak.
Salzburg has not lost away from home in the championship 24 times, which is a record in league history. The big goal is to further expand this, and the motivation is even greater thanks to the slip-up in the direct duel in Wals-Siezenheim. “We have a lot of plans, we want to take revenge for the first leg defeat in Salzburg and take three points home,” said offensive player Oscar Gloukh, setting out the route. With a view to the first game of the season, one should be warned. “They are having a really good season and are very compact, especially in defense. The game will certainly not be any easier than the first duel with us.”
Gerhard Struber also knows this, according to whom we have known since the first leg at the latest how dangerous the opponent could be. “We are aware that they are really good at home, especially in defense, and concede few goals. That means we want to take advantage of our scoring opportunities and be cool when finishing,” said Salzburg’s coach. His team wants to score three points for the first time in the second league attempt in 2024, after their last draw against Sturm Graz was 1-1. This would at least keep the two-point cushion over Graz in the fight for the top of the league.
“For us on Saturday in Linz it is important to build on the strong performance from the last home game against Sturm, but also to reward ourselves for it at the end,” said Struber. The Salzburg team have good memories of Linz, where they managed a 3-2 win in the ÖFB Cup quarter-finals against BW local rivals LASK at the start of the spring. A good omen could also be that the most recent two away games against promoted teams (2021/22 Klagenfurt and 2022/23 Lustenau) were both won 6-0.
As an alternative, Karim Konate, a striker who returned from the Africa Cup on Friday (today), is available again, including a tournament win with the Ivory Coast. However, Samson Baidoo, Nicolas Capaldo, Amar Dedic and Dorgeles Nene are injured. Leandro Morgalla is unavailable for an indefinite period of time due to myocarditis caused by a viral illness. The home team was still worried about Ronivaldo’s use. The veteran striker scored the gold goal in Salzburg and could now score for the first time as an Austrian after receiving citizenship.
“He has muscular problems and is already an old man. At the moment it is very questionable whether he can play. Otherwise everyone is fit and in training,” said BW coach Gerald Scheiblehner. He expected an “incredibly dominant” opponent. “But we have a clear plan. You can’t set any limits in a game. We can achieve something with the energy of the fans,” said the 46-year-old. The stadium is sold out with 5,585 fans. The first home duel with the Ligakrösus in the new arena will be an experience. “I can hardly wait,” said Scheiblehner, whose team played 1-1 against Altach at the start of the year.
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