Austria Lustenau v WSG Tirol

Only four promoted clubs across Europe this summer have waited longer for their top-flight return than Austria Lustenau, whose 22-year absence from the Austrian Bundesliga will finally end when WSG Tirol come to town. But the newcomers, who are based in the state of Vorarlberg right on the Swiss border, can sadly no longer count on their star forward Haris Tabakovic, whose impressive record of 27 goals in 23 games last season earned him a move to fellow Bundesliga club Austria Vienna. They will also be without defensive midfielder Adriel, who is still recovering from a fractured collarbone.

As is by now almost tradition, opponents WSG Tirol have signed a striker from a Serie A club. Following the successful loan spells of Nikolai Baden Fredriksen and Giocomo Vrioni in recent seasons, the Tyroleans have opted to sign Nik Prelec from Sampdoria this time around. He is joined by Argentine forward Lautaro Rinaldi, who returns to European football for the first time since his brief spell with Brescia in 2017/18. This will be WSG head coach Thomas Silberberger’s 100^th Bundesliga game in the dugout. He is the longest-serving coach in the league by far and will have been in the role a decade come the end of the season.

While WSG Tirol are unbeaten in their last four league meetings with Austria Lustenau (W2 D2) – during their time together in the second tier – the Vorarlbergers have home advantage and will be desperate to make a mark in front of their supporters on their long-awaited return to the Austrian Bundesliga. That makes this match very difficult to call and as you could make a case for either side to come out on top, a bet on both teams to score is likely to be the safer option.

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Hartberg v Altach

Having preserved their top-flight status on a shoestring budget yet again, tiny Hartberg are gearing up for their fifth consecutive season in the Austrian Bundesliga. Their market activity has again been underwhelming – the Styrian side famously have not spent a single cent on player transfers since gaining promotion – but they have managed to retain most of their key men, including goalkeeper Rene Swete, attacking midfielder Donis Avdijaj and legendary forward Dario Tadic.

After spending much of last season flirting with relegation, Altach escaped the dreaded drop thanks to a victory on the final day. Their squad has undergone something of a re-shaping in the off-season, with a number of key players such as forward Christoph Monschein and defender Mickaël Nanizayamo returning to their parent clubs after loan spells. But the signing of defensive midfielder Lukas Jäger from Sturm Graz is an astute addition, as is the arrival of the World Cup’s all-time top-scorer Miroslav Klose in the dugout – one of the unlikeliest and most unexpected coaching appointments the Austrian Bundesliga has witnessed in recent years.

On paper this looks like it will be a relatively even encounter between two strugglers from last season, but their recent head-to-head record suggests this may not be the case. Hartberg have lost only one of their last 10 Bundesliga meetings with Altach and have kept a clean sheet in their last three clashes with the Vorarlbergers. That makes us inclined to back the Styrian hosts to take maximum points, and pick up their first league win since beating Altach 4-0 at home at the end of April.

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Rapid Vienna v Ried

It has been a summer of change at Rapid Vienna with 10 new signings arriving in Hütteldorf in a bid to earn the Green & Whites their first silverware in 15 years: striker Guido Burgstaller returns after a previous spell at the capital club from 2011 to 2014, while fellow forward Ferdy Druijf’s loan move from Alkmaar has been made permanent. Midfielder Robert Ljubicic was sold to Dinamo Zagreb for a cool €2.5m, but the loss of central defender Leo Greiml to Schalke on a free transfer will hurt.

Another player who has made the move to Vienna is attacking winger Ante Bajic, who was Ried’s top scorer last season with nine goals. He will likely miss the reunion with his former club after recently testing positive for coronavirus, however. The Vikings have attempted to make up for that loss by signing striker Christoph Monschein from Upper Austrian rivals LASK and, crucially, have kept hold of 30-year-old midfielder Stefan Nutz, who was their biggest creative outlet last term with 16 assists across all competitions.

Rapid Vienna boast a pretty solid record against Ried, with 13 wins in their last 13 home games against the Vikings. That, combined with the way Ried’s form tailed off in the home straight of last season following the sacking of coach Robert Ibertsberger, make us pretty confident Rapid will get the win here – despite their laboured, last-minute victory against third-tier opposition in the cup opening round and their goalless draw at home to Lechia Gdansk in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds in midweek.

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