Storm challenged
The champions fight against the “slap in the face triple”
After slipping up against Brest and WAC, Sturm are desperate for points against Austria on Wednesday (18:30). The Ilzer squad are no strangers to disappointment.
The success-spoiled double winners will be fighting against the "slap in the face triple pack" at Austria! After the two defeats in Brest (1:2) and against the WAC (0:3), Sturm have something to make up for in Vienna - and a sporting "reaction" (i.e. a points win) from the Black & Whites is quite likely given their record to date under Christian Ilzer. In five seasons under the 46-year-old successful coach, who has a points average of 1.85 at Sturm (and has won 101 of his 184 games), Graz have only suffered three defeats in a row once - in October 2021 there were even four in the space of eleven days: 0:1 against Real Sociedad, 1:4 against Salzburg, 1:2 against Ried and 0:3 against WAC.
However, the Graz squad has developed considerably since that mini slump - the demands on themselves have risen noticeably. And they want to back this up with success. "We want to sprint more again, bring more intensity to the duels and give everything to show our true colors again in Vienna," says midfield hopeful Lovro Zvonarek, eager to get back on the road to success.
Even though Austria have only lost one of their last 18 home games under Stephan Helm, the Generali-Arena has recently been a feel-good oasis for the "Blackies" - the last three encounters were won 3-0, 2-1 and 3-0. And the Ilz squad also came out on top in the last encounter: Tomi Horvat and Mika Biereth secured a 2-0 win at home in the Cup round of 16 on February 2, 2024.
The injured defender Gregory Wüthrich (like Alexandar Borkovic, who is also injured) will of course not be able to help out in Vienna, while captain Jon Gorenc Stankovic is looking better. On Tuesday, the Slovenian "stabilizer" completed the final training session as normal.
There are no instructions from the Sturm camp regarding the current "fan issue" in Vienna: Just over a thousand tickets for the away sector have already been sold in Graz - the champions can look forward to vocal support in Favoriten.
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