Football: Wiener Austria Against Ried for Third Consecutive Victory

Vice-champion against champion: On Saturday, the opening of the 7th round of the football Bundesliga will see a duel between Red Bull Salzburg and defending champion Sturm Graz, marking the first major highlight of the season. Both teams are somewhat lagging behind expectations and therefore need points. The Salzburg team, in second place, hosts the fifth-placed team, which is two points behind with one game less. Austria Vienna hosts Ried, and WAC plays against Hartberg in Maria Enzersdorf.

Defeats for Salzburg and Sturm

For the supposed top teams of the league, things are not going smoothly before entering the league phase of the Europa League. The Salzburg team disappointed with a 1:3 in Wolfsberg on all fronts, and the Graz team also suffered a setback with a 0:1 against Austria in the league. As a result, the gap to leader Rapid increased to five and seven points, respectively. "After the 6th round, the championship is neither decided in a positive nor a negative direction," emphasized Salzburg coach Thomas Letsch. Now they have a "great opportunity to show that we can do significantly better than we showed last week."

In the Lavanttal Arena, the German especially missed the "basics" in his team. That must not happen again. "We have clearly pointed out what was missing, and the team has shown in training this week that they want to react." This would also be important to silence the criticism circulating around the club. "It is part of our job to be judged. But we focus on ourselves," said Letsch. Last season, three out of four duels with Sturm were lost. The Graz team, who remained victorious 2:0 in the Cup in Röthis on Wednesday, have the chance to achieve three consecutive league victories against the former serial champion for the first time since 2002.

"I think that with our virtues and our game, we will have good chances in Salzburg. We are eager for this highlight," announced Sturm coach Jürgen Säumel. The big question remains whether the recently injured key players Jon Gorenc Stankovic and Otar Kiteishvili will be deployed. One must be cautious and carefully weigh the loads, the Styrian left everything open given the intense weeks. It is expected that both teams will act with open visors. "I expect a lot of energy and power on the field, it will go back and forth, and in the end, it will also be decisive who wants it even more," said Sturm defender Tim Oermann.

Austria back on winning track before duel with Ried

The Viennese gave strong signs of life with two 1-0 victories against Altach and at Sturm Graz, also giving coach Stephan Helm some breathing room. Now, the goal is to make further progress from ninth place with another success, also aiming to overtake the Ried team, who are level on points. "We have been able to create a positive momentum, now it's important to use it," emphasized Helm. According to central defender Philipp Wiesinger, the team remained calm during a small slump. "We pulled the right levers, managed the turnaround, and we want to continue that tomorrow."

This would also be important to gain more confidence before the Vienna Derby. "The derby is not on our minds at all. The most important thing is always the next game, especially when you see how close the league is," said the Austria coach. His team has worked "brutally hard" in training. However, the promoted team is not being underestimated. "They have shown that they are to be taken very seriously. They want to play very aggressively, rely on a high defensive line, and play flexibly and bravely with the ball," analyzed Helm. The Ried team hopes to continue their away series.

Recently, there was a 2-0 at Blau-Weiß Linz and a 3-1 at LASK. The recent 0-2 home loss against Hartberg should not be overestimated, as many COVID-19 cases caused problems. "After overcoming the wave of illness, you can feel the joy and energy in the team to be able to prepare as a complete team on the training ground again," explained Ried coach Maximilian Senft. The last time the two teams met was on March 4, 2023 (3-1 for Austria), which was also Senft's first game as Ried coach. In 2018/19, the 36-year-old Viennese was an assistant coach at Austria.

WAC coach predicts "tight game" against Hartberg

Hartberg and WAC are facing off in a rematch of the ÖFB Cup final, which the Carinthians won 1-0 on May 1. "That was so long ago that it's no longer interesting. The only thing we want again is to win. Otherwise, the final is no longer important," said WAC coach Dietmar Kühbauer. With a 3-1 against Salzburg in the league and a commanding 6-0 in the Cup at Reichenau/Innsbruck, there have been two recent successes. However, the curve is also pointing upwards for the Styrians with two wins in the last three league games, most recently a 2-0 in Ried.

"It will be a very tight game, not many goals will be scored, I hope we are the luckier team," said Kühbauer. The fit-again Nikolas Polster returns to goal, while Lukas Gütlbauer, despite strong performances, has to move to the second row. His team stands with ten points after six rounds, similar to 2024/25, with fewer goals scored (10 compared to 15) and fewer goals conceded (6 instead of 10). Just one point behind the fourth, the sixth-placed Hartberg is lurking. They have to play again in the substitute stadium Datenpol Arena, where they have not yet scored a point in two games. "We want to carry the momentum from the last game. It will be important to win the duels on the pitch and convert the chances," said striker Marco Hofmann.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.