Bundesliga in the TICKER

LIVE from 5pm: Champions SK Sturm meet Rapid

SK Sturm Graz welcomes SK Rapid ...

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

12th round in Austria's Bundesliga: SK Sturm Graz welcomes SK Rapid. We report live (see below). 

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SK Rapid have turned their attention to the future as quickly as possible after their embarrassing cup defeat to second division side Stripfing. Today, the Hütteldorfer play host to league leaders Sturm Graz in the Bundesliga, the cup frustration quickly giving way to anticipation of the summit meeting in Graz. "The stadium will be sold out. It's first versus second, what could be better?" said Rapid coach Robert Klauß.

Robert Klauß

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

His Green-Whites, unbeaten in seven league games, are three points behind Sturm. The team from Graz, meanwhile, have won all of their last four league games, including two goal spectacles against Salzburg and city rivals GAK. In contrast to Rapid, Christian Ilzer's team also made it through to the last sixteen of the Cup thanks to a lackluster 2:1 win against Blau-Weiß Linz.

Christian Ilzer

(Bild: GEPA)

Now Graz want to break away from their closest rivals in the Merkur Arena, which has been sold out for weeks. "We have a big game ahead of us, which is even more explosive due to the situation in the table," said Ilzer. In any case, the 47-year-old is warned about the Green-Whites: "I see Rapid as extremely stable, they have a clear idea of soccer. For me, Rapid are definitely among the championship candidates."

Klauß: "There's no point in mourning for long"
According to Klauß, it didn't take long for Rapid to overcome their frustration after the 2-1 defeat in the Cup on Wednesday. "I only spoke to the team about Stripfing for three minutes the next day. There's no point in mourning for long," explained the German. "Of course it hurts to have missed a chance at the title. But I don't think the defeat will throw us off course."

After the Rapid coach opted for a B-Eleven against Stripfing, with the exception of goalkeeper Niklas Hedl, and thus made a mistake, the currently available first team will line up again against Sturm. The first duel of the season showed that Rapid can certainly stand up to the home double winners. Green-White deservedly won 1:0 in the season opener. "We are good enough to beat them. Nevertheless, I expect Sturm to be in a different shape, they are more stable now," said Klauß.

Ilzer sees slight Rapid advantage
Ilzer holds similar views. In the first round, Rapid were not only the deserved winners, but also the better team in terms of soccer. "Since then, however, we have developed, we are much more stable," explained the Sturm coach. Due to Rapids' strong rotation in the cup, the Styrian felt the visitors had at least a slight advantage in terms of freshness. "When they were fresh, they were hard to break down this year. But we will bring everything onto the pitch to beat them."

Sturm did not rotate as much in the Cup, despite the fact that they already have a top-class match in Dortmund next Tuesday. "It's a very intense time at the moment, but we all like the calendar," assured Ilzer. Now the full focus is on the summit match against Rapid.