WSG Tirol v Hartberg
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Sunday 31st July – 4:00PM KO
WSG Tirol might have lost their opening Austrian Bundesliga game of the season against promoted Lustenau – but they almost pulled off a late fightback and showed the same kind of spirit and resolve that saw them finish top of the Qualification Round last season. Their opponents Hartberg, another perennial overachiever in the Austrian Bundesliga, kicked off their campaign on a winning note courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Altach secured by a Donis Avdijaj brace.
The major team news for this match all comes from the WSG Tirol camp: Austria U21 international Stefan Skrbo, a midfielder who established himself in the side in the second half of last season, suffered a fractured leg in the aforementioned match in Lustenau and is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. His place in the team could be taken by new Argentine signing Lautaro Rinaldi, who replaced him from the bench last weekend. Both teams are otherwise at full strength for this clash.
While WSG Tirol did not lose any of their four matches to Hartberg last season (W3 D1), the Styrians looked impressive in their opening game and can be a match for anyone on their day. That makes us inclined to suggest both teams to score as our bet of choice. After all, WSG Tirol had the Bundesliga’s worst defence last season (58 goals conceded), while Hartberg (47 goals conceded) were not far behind them.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.57 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Austria Klagenfurt v Rapid Vienna
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Sunday 31st July – 4:00PM KO
The big question on everybody’s lips in their home state of Carinthia is: can last season’s surprise package Austria Klagenfurt maintain their form or will they fall victim to second-season syndrome? Their opening game against LASK, in which they were totally outplayed and beaten 3-1, would suggest the latter rather than the former is the case. But it’s early days, and they are up against a Rapid Vienna side that has looked far from a cohesive unit in their first league, cup and European qualifying games of the season.
One of the biggest signings of the summer for Rapid Vienna was midfielder Patrick Greil, who arrived from Austria Klagenfurt. But he has been suffering from adductor problems and may miss out on facing his former club, while forward Ferdy Druijf, and midfielders Yusuf Demir, Roman Kerschbaum and Dejan Petrovic are all doubtful too. That lengthy injury list is likely to make a difference against a Klagenfurt side with a clean bill of health.
But although the Green & Whites are certainly missing some key performers, they will be buoyed by the fact they have never lost to Austria Klagenfurt in the Bundesliga and have not lost their opening away game in each of the past five seasons. And we can see them edging out a narrow win in this one because, despite their struggles in front of goal, Rapid Vienna have conceded only once in their four games in all competitions this season.
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Prediction: Rapid Vienna to Win, 1.95 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Austria Vienna v LASK
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Sunday 31st July – 4:00PM KO
Austria Vienna and LASK were involved in a number of transfer dealings during the off-season, with the trio of forward Marko Raguz and midfielders James Holland and Andreas Gruber all swapping Linz for the capital. Raguz has an injury and has not yet debuted for his new team, but Holland and Gruber were both involved in the 3-0 loss to Salzburg on Friday. LASK, meanwhile, routed Austria Klagenfurt 3-1 with Marin Ljubicic looking excellent on his league debut.
As well as possibly being without Raguz, the Violets are also missing young left-back Ziad El Sheiwi, who is still working his way back from a ruptured cruciate ligament and forward Marco Djuricin, the capital club’s top scorer last season with nine goals. The Linzers will be without suspended playmaker Peter Michorl after a reckless straight red card, with the central defensive trio of Filip Twardzik, Philipp Wiesinger and Yannis Letard also absent with injury.
Austria Vienna tend to struggle against LASK and have won only one of their last 13 league matches against the Linz outfit – a 2-0 win last term. That would make LASK favourites in our eyes, but rather than betting on an outright winner. we’d be tempted to go for over 2.5 goals being scored, which has happened in five of the last six meetings at the Generali Arena.
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Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals, 1.75 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
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