Bundesliga in the ticker
Sturm Graz against Austria Vienna – LIVE from 20:30
Opening match of the spring season in the Austrian Bundesliga! Champions Sturm Graz welcome Austria Vienna. We'll be reporting live from 8.30pm - see ticker below.
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Sturm Graz will be looking to make a statement at the top of the table, while Vienna Austria will be looking to score another effective goal at the scene of their latest triumph. One week after winning the Cup tie with the double winners in Graz, the Violets, who are on a winning streak, have their sights set on the top spot. If Austria take all three points in the opening match of the spring season today, they would suddenly be smiling from the top of the table.
The "Violets", who have remained unchanged since the winter break, have won ten competitive matches in a row since October, scoring 19 goals and conceding just three. The most recent success in the Merkur Arena was, of course, the most spectacular. "Now you can no longer talk about luck," said captain Manfred Fischer. He was referring to statements according to which Austria had "only won against worse teams and always with luck". "Now we've closed our mouths for once," said Fischer.
The midfielder emphasized that they now wanted to continue working down to earth - and set their sights on reaching new heights. "We have the chance to do something that nobody thought we could do," said Fischer, looking ahead to first place in the league. Three points are missing from Sturm, but with an away win, Austria would overtake the champions thanks to the direct duels. The first match of the season ended in a 2-2 draw.
Sturm, however, expected Fischer to be highly motivated with "even more knives between his teeth. They will also say that we won't lose to Austria again". The last time Austria celebrated nine wins in a row in the championship was in 1978 in the days of Herbert Prohaska.
Sturm in search of improvement
Sturm vowed a reaction. While Graz, who are strong at home (six wins in eight games), still had one or two chances to equalize last Friday after the quick 0:1 before the break, their offensive efforts were completely ineffective in the second half. "We will certainly draw the right conclusions from this," announced coach Jürgen Säumel afterwards. "There are things we need and want to improve. And we will do that."
As Säumel went on to say, the Cup performance showed what Sturm can expect in the spring. "We will have to work hard for everything," said the 40-year-old, who was confirmed as head coach during the winter break. The current lead over the chasing pack - eight over Rapid in third and ten over WAC and Salzburg - will melt away after the points split at the latest. The race for the league title seems more open than it has been for years.
At Graz, neo-striker Fally Mayulu has had another week of training. If Sturm have their way, the Bristol loanee will make up for the departure of goal-guarantee Mika Biereth sooner rather than later. Sturm will be without suspended midfielder Tochi Chukwuani, while right-back Max Johnston has been ill this week and is therefore doubtful for Friday. Austria have all the winners from the previous week back on board.
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