SV Ried v Altach

Another weekend of Austrian Bundesliga action is upon us where Ried slumped to defeat in the first game of the group, immediately giving up their advantage at the top. Altach ended a torrid run of ten straight defeats, but before you get too excited, they managed only a goalless draw to at least earn a rare point for the league’s bottom club.

Last weekend Altach’s attackers created five shots on target, impressive for a side who were down to ten men inside half an hour, but they had to run hard for over an hour to remain level at 0-0. Manuel Thurnwald will be missing after being brought on and then swiftly sent off, but despite giving a good account of themselves Altach have still only scored once in eleven games. That solitary goal came at the Josko Arena, as they gave Ried a real challenge, only to lose 2-1 to a stoppage time strike.

Ried’s defeat to Admira last weekend is alarming, but they were unlucky with some big decisions, and can be forgiven to some extent after the heartbreak of just missing out on the top-six group the weekend before. Now they’ve had time to refocus, and a reminder that they won’t simply walk over their ‘Relegation Group’ opposition, they should be able to get back on track. They’re also Austria’s second best home team having won six times at the Josko Arena, and are yet to taste defeat in their own stadium this season, so it would be a massive surprise if lowly Altach were to be the team who ended that run. Stefan Nutz had a rare off-day last weekend, but with Ante Bajic and Leo Mikic alongside him, we’d back Ried to bounce back on Sunday.

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WSG Tirol v Admira Wacker

WSG Tirol got their group campaign started in the worst possible fashion with a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of LASK, whereas Admira Wacker pulled off a surprise win against the initial group leaders Ried. Both teams have won five matches this season, drawn eight and lost ten, but WSG’s recent victory over Hartberg can’t hide the fact that Thomas Silberberger’s team have really struggled since November.

Both teams have paid for their lack of cohesive attacking football by ending up in the lower half of the table, yet Admira have shown renewed fight of late, even if they’re still overly reliant on Roman Kerschbaum’s creativity, and are missing an out-and-out goal scorer. The guests will come into this game unbeaten in seven on the road, and as WSG’s recent problems in front of goal appear to be mixed with a newfound defensive fragility, it should be a tough afternoon for them as they look to bounce back from their 6-0 loss.

Giacomo Vrioni was WSG’s hero early in the season but he can’t seem to play his way back into form, and Tim Prica alongside him chips in goals too rarely to make WSG worth backing. The hosts will be fired up but very much low on confidence after last week, and Admira will feel that they have the form and the weapons to win against a troubled opponent. Admira Draw No Bet should be a safer option for a game between two relatively inconsistent sides.

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Hartberg v LASK

LASK finally made their chances tell last weekend as Florian Flecker put up two goals and two assists to help his team win 6-0. Hartberg failed to score for the second week in succession, ending up disappointed with a stalemate against basement side Altach.

An injury-time yellow card for Donis Avdijaj was the last thing Hartberg needed in their 0-0 draw. On the left of the midfield, Avdijaj has been one of the few standout performers in recent months for the Styrian team, and his chance creation was working well against Altach even if the finishes didn’t find the net. He’ll be missing for this game, and LASK will be happy not to have to face him.

For their part, the Upper Austrians will have to recover quickly from the stresses and strains of the Conference League, but after beating Slavia Prague 4-3, Hartberg might not seem too intimidating. LASK’s chance creation has been one of the best in the league, but until last weekend they couldn’t turn opportunities into goals. Their 6-0 win could prove just what the attack needed to click, and with the dynamic Sascha Horvath likely to be back as well, their threat will increase further. Alexander Schmidt is finally finding the net more often, and LASK have scored 10 goals in the last week.

Hartberg have only won twice at home in the league this season, and LASK have been just as good on the road as they have at home, so we fancy them to continue their strong start to the group despite their European exertions.

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Sturm Graz v Austria Klagenfurt

Sturm felt hard done by as they slipped to a narrow defeat in Salzburg last time out, but with 14 shots overall, they only needed a decision or two to fall their way and they could well have won. Klagenfurt lost their last two games both against Rapid, and their task won’t get any easier this weekend as they travel to Graz.

Sturm may have drawn a blank last weekend against the champions, but they scored 12 goals in their previous five matches, including three goals which came against Klagenfurt in a one-sided win in mid-December. They’ve earned the most penalties of anyone in the Bundesliga (7) and were unfortunate not to add to that tally in Salzburg as well, so despite the defeat they’ll be confident of their performance-level ahead of Sunday’s game.

Klagenfurt only have one win in their last seven, and that came against a flatlining Altach team, and in the end they were fairly fortunate to remain in the top-six group when the league split. They were outclassed twice in two weeks by Rapid, and Sturm are a cut above at the moment. Klagenfurt are only ninth of Austria’s 12 teams in terms of their away record, and with their shockingly high number of cards continuing, they’ll be without key players in defence and midfield for this game; Nicolas Wimmer and Turgay Gemicibasi are the two players to sit out.

Sturm have already defeated Klagenfurt three times this season, and we feel that the home team will have enough in the tank to overcome them once again on Sunday.

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Wolfsberger AC v RB Salzburg

These two teams duked it out in a bruising cup semi-final midweek at the Lavanttal Arena, and now they’ll meet again in the league just four days later. Wolfsberg came close to the sensation of knocking Salzburg out of the cup, but a late equaliser took the game to penalties where the perennial champs progressed.

WAC coach Robin Dutt said he’d “rather have lost 4-0” after that morale crushing semi-final defeat, and despite a brilliant effort in the cup, and a very strong league record at home, the Carinthians might well be lacking a touch of desire after seeing their dreams of a first trophy go up in smoke from spot kicks. Salzburg are probably the last team they want to face right now, and without Luka Lochoshvili at full fitness in defence, their challenge doesn’t get any easier. They had won a mighty seven games on the bounce at home though before their cup exit, so there will be confidence drawn from that excellent form.

By their lofty standards, Salzburg have struggled in front of goal lately, but even with that they’ve still only drawn a blank once since November, and it’s been more a case of scoring one or two per game, rather than the four or five that Matthias Jaissle’s side are known to be capable of. With an average still tracking at over two goals per game, and a wealth of talent to call upon up front, we’d certainly back Salzburg to be on the scoresheet, but we think WAC will find a way onto the board as well, as they attempt the tough task of gaining some revenge for their recent defeat.

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Rapid Vienna v Austria Vienna

After good recent runs, only one point separates the two clubs from Austria’s capital as they go into the 335th Vienna Derby. Rapid Vienna will welcome well over 20,000 fans to create another raucous atmosphere in Hütteldorf on Sunday, but since their new stadium was constructed in 2016, they’re yet to beat their fierce rivals Austria Vienna at home. An overall record from recent years shows 14 wins for Rapid, 13 for Austria, and 14 draws, and these two closely matched teams often play out a tightly contested match with thunderous challenges and little free-flowing football as you might expect.

Both teams usually appear more desperate to avoid defeat than they do to go all out for the win in these cagey derbies; the last five meetings have all ended level, and before that it was two wins apiece. Underperforming teams have often picked themselves up to play well in the derby, but this time both teams come in on decent form. Rapid have won their last three league games, but Austria have the more impressive recent run with five wins in succession, two of which have come away from home.

Marco Djuricin has been off the boil lately so he in particular will have been relieved to get back in the goals last time out for Austria, and with Eric Martel back up to speed they should be tough to break down for the Rapid attack. The home team have been distracted in the build-up with off-field issues surrounding their wantaway striker Taxi Fountas, but in his stead Berni Zimmermann has scored three goals, and partnered well with Ferdy Druijf. Last week Yusuf Demir also notched his first goal since returning from Barcelona, and he’s got the kind of quality with his quick feet that can turn a derby in his team’s favour.

It’s so difficult to pick a winner here given the nature of these games and how they throw form books out of the window, but we think that both teams will find the net at least once, even if one of the teams does claim the capital’s bragging rights.

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