Debut of the superstar?

LASK counts on Jerome Boateng against the Bulls

Jerome Boateng should be in the squad for the first time against Salzburg.

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

LASK will be put to the test in the coming weeks, with fans expecting the Black & Whites to be successful in order to avoid falling behind in the league. And they face a huge challenge in the European Cup with Romanian champions FCSB Bucharest.

After the painful 2:1 defeat against Altach, the weeks of truth follow for Linz: tomorrow, runners-up Salzburg, who were in outstanding form against Blau-Weiß, come to the Raiffeisen-Arena. On August 22, Schwarz-Weiß will host Romanian champions FCSB Bucharest in the Europa League play-off. And another three days later, LASK have to face Vienna Austria away at Viola Park. A mega program that could, at worst, trigger a mini crisis if captain Robert Zulj and his colleagues don't get back on track. After this treble, we will see where the journey really takes us this season. "An extremely demanding match against a team that claims to be the best in Austria," emphasizes coach Thomas Dazazs.

The Linzers are annoyed by the personnel situation: In addition to the long-term injuries to Florian Flecker, Ibrahim Mustapha, Andres Andrade and Ivan Ljubic, Maximilian Entrup, Tomas Galvez and Tomas Tavares are still missing - plus Valon Berisha. In the middle of the intensive phase with league, ÖFB Cup and European Cup, the black and white squad is dangerously thinned out.

Amateurs against Salzburg
Five youngsters - Adil Taoui, Alexis Tibidi, amateurs Kevin Lebersorger and Enis Safin and Lenny Pintor - were on the bench against Altach. Only Jörg Siebenhandl and Filip Stojkovic have a wealth of experience, having played 300 and 127 Bundesliga games respectively.

Boateng fit for Salzburg

Instead, there could be a man in the squad whose debut everyone is looking forward to: Jérôme Boateng does not appear on the list of professionals who are injured or catching up on training. The former Bayern superstar is likely to have caught up on his fitness and healed his aches and pains. It remains to be seen to what extent the 35-year-old will be mentally and psychologically fit after his sensational court cases in Munich and Berlin. In any case, Boateng in black and white would be a real eye-catcher that would further enhance the match against the Bulls. Salzburg coach Pepijn Lijnders warns: "LASK will want to show a reaction, they will make life difficult for us."