Altach v Admira Wacker
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Saturday 26th February – 4:00PM KO
It’s early in the year to be talking of a relegation “six-pointer”, but this battle of the bottom-two in the Bundesliga is likely to be fraught with nerves over the 90 minutes. Altach have the worst scoring record in the division with a meagre 10 goals in their 20 games so far, visitors Admira have the second-lowest figure, although they’ve found the net more than twice as many times (22).
The confidence of the home side will be as low as their league position after eight straight defeats and just one goal to dine out on during that torrid time, but if they’re to snap the run against anyone, their closest rivals could be the candidates. Admira have at times suffered with the six hour journey west to face Altach, but they’ve come out on top in three of the last five meetings, and are somewhat surprisingly five games unbeaten on the road, drawing on each of those occasions.
As the sides have mustered just three victories apiece so far in this campaign, we’re wary of going for an outright winner. After a string of tame defeats, Altach simply must fight back in their final home fixture of the regular season, whilst Admira have a knack of taking points against the bigger sides, but can struggle against basement teams. With the league’s two worst attacks going head to head, and reasonable defensive records all-round, we’re expecting a low-scoring encounter in this one.
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Prediction: Under 2.5 Goals, 1.64 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Austria Vienna v Wolfsberger AC
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Sunday 27th February – 4:00PM KO
Two upwardly mobile teams go head to head in the capital on Sunday. Austria Vienna won’t be short of motivation; two wins on the spin since the winter break have helped put an inconsistent run behind them, and left them in pole position to succeed in their battle for a top-six spot. Wolfsberg won’t be scared, having won 10 of their last 13 games, a run propelling them to second place in the standings.
Austria Vienna are still missing young left back Ziad El Sheiwi, something which costs them in terms of creativity down the flanks, but Manfred Fischer has taken over recently and restored that threat on the left. Eric Martel is also in fine form, running the game from defensive midfield, and top scorer Marco Djuricin should be back up to speed after a recent knock left him confined to the bench. Wolfsberg’s flexible midfield has allowed Eliel Peretz and Michael Liendl to chip in with a combined 18 goals and assists this season, but with Liendl’s lack of training due to illness, and the rest of the squad’s ultimately fruitless exertions against Salzburg last time out, they could struggle to bounce back quickly from that gruelling late defeat.
Both teams tend to have good chance creation, yet there hasn’t been a draw in the last five meetings, so it could be an end-to-end game. With Wolfsberg’s players having half an eye on a cup semi-final which has just been postponed, and Austria desperate to be mixing it in the upper half of the table after the league splits in two next weekend, we think their extra drive could see them to victory despite the guests’ good form.
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Prediction: Austria Vienna to Win, 2.2 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Austria Klagenfurt v Ried
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Sunday 27th February – 4:00PM KO
Ending up in the top-six “Championship Round” of the Bundesliga after 22 games would be a major achievement for either of these sides, and yet both are still in with a great chance to do just that with two games left to go. The slick counter attacking football of promoted Klagenfurt has left them on the cusp in fourth, whilst Ried, powered by the league’s leading assist provider Stefan Nutz, are two points behind in sixth.
Klagenfurt’s top scorer Markus Pink is likely to miss out for the second game in succession, but coach Peter Pacult has patched holes well this season, and with the combative Turgay Gemicibasi returning from suspension and Patrick Greil expected to be fit again, the midfield should be in very good shape to support loan striker Alex Timossi Andersson. Ried will still have to make do without the deft touch of Seifedin Chabbi after his elbow injury, but other than that, they have a full squad to call upon in a bid to repeat their cup quarter-final victory over Klagenfurt from earlier on this month.
The hosts will have learned lessons from that weak showing as Ried knocked them out of the cup just weeks ago, this time they’ll have the luxury of playing at home, and also knowing that even a point could be very useful indeed. Ried will be looking to this game as perhaps their best chance to put distance between themselves and seventh, so whilst anyone could win it, we think that both teams will get goals on the board.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.5 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Sturm Graz v Hartberg
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Sunday 27th February – 4:00PM KO
Sturm vs Hartberg is a local derby in the state of Styria, and it’s the smaller of the two sides – Hartberg – who currently hold the bragging rights after a 3-2 win in the reverse fixture. Sturm are enjoying a very solid season under coach Christian Ilzer, but they’ve not yet managed to win since the winter break, instead drawing twice. Hartberg pulled off an early February shock to reach the cup semi-final, but since then they’ve drawn and lost in the league, and a place in the top-six looks out of reach with a five point deficit and two to play.
The hosts will hope new signing Rasmus Hojlund can strike again on Sunday after three goals in his first two Sturm games. He’s already shown that he’s on the same wavelength as veteran strike-partner Jakob Jantscher (10 goals / 9 assists), and the league’s second-highest scorers (41 goals) are looking dangerous once they advance into the final third. For Hartberg, next week’s winnable cup semi-final is one of the biggest occasions in the club’s history, so it’s bound to be a factor in some heads, even coach Kurt Russ admitted it would be in the back of his mind.
Christian Ilzer’s Sturm will be keen to consolidate some good recent performances with a home win, and beating Hartberg will always be a high priority for the men in Black and White. Hartberg can never be discounted in the derby though, and with Dario Tadic simply continuing to score whether his team plays well or not, we think there are likely to be goals in this one, but we’re backing Sturm Graz to seize back those bragging rights.
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Prediction: Sturm Graz & Over 2.5 Goals, 2.0 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
WSG Tirol v Rapid Vienna
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Sunday 27th February – 4:00PM KO
For the second time this season, Rapid Vienna will be under great pressure as they face WSG Tirol. Back in October, Rapid were able to come from behind on home turf to win the fixture 5-2, this time they’ll hope to repeat the trick over in Innsbruck. With their top-six ambitions hanging in the balance and a tame European exit sapping their confidence, it won’t be an easy task. WSG themselves haven’t won since late November, but with goals apparently flowing again, they will sense a big chance against Rapid on Sunday.
WSG have only picked up one point in the last four league matches, but they’ve scored twice in each of their last two games, including two injury-time goals in their latest defeat. In Giacomo Vrioni they boast one of the league’s deadliest strikers (10 goals in 14 games) so even without Tobias Anselm or Thomas Sabitzer they can be dangerous, especially now youngster Stefan Skrbo is finding his passing range from the left. For Rapid, inexperience is starting to tell. The injury list is piling up once more, above all at the back, as defenders Max Hofmann, Leo Greiml and Christopher Dibon have been absent of late and are unlikely to return. They’ll hope for the return of seven-goal striker Taxi Fountas, and for dribbling specialist Marco Grüll or new-boy Ferdy Druijf to keep the ball away from the fragile defence.
Paul Gartler may return in goal for Rapid’s trip to Tyrol, but Filip Stojkovic’s suspension takes yet more experience away from the back line of a team who struggle with set-pieces and goals against the run of play. WSG may have no more top-six ambitions, but they thrive on results that fly in the face of a form book, and if they sink their teeth in, Rapid could find themselves in real trouble as WSG aim to move away from relegation danger. Both teams should find the net in this one.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.52 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
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