Bundesliga in the ticker:

SK Rapid against Grazer AK – LIVE from 5pm

SK Rapid have a visit from Graz.

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

22nd round of the Austrian Bundesliga. SK Rapid host Grazer AK, we report live from 5pm - see ticker below.

Here is the live ticker:

Three days after qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Football Conference League, the next final match awaits SK Rapid on Sunday. In the home game against GAK, the Hütteldorfer will have to decide which way the season will go. A win will secure them a place in the Champions League, while a draw or defeat against the promoted side could see them drop down to the play-offs and face further clashes against GAK, Altach or WSG Tirol instead of Sturm Graz or Vienna Austria.

"I think the boys know what's at stake. This is a very, very important and groundbreaking game," said Rapid coach Robert Klauß on Friday, for whom things could get uncomfortable in the event of a defeat. The team's recent results in the championship have been more than poor. In the last eight Bundesliga games, there has only been one win and five defeats. Four of the first five spring games were lost - for the first time in the 51-year history of the Bundesliga - and no other Bundesliga team has conceded more clean sheets in 2025.

Since the start of this season in the fall, the Green-Whites have dropped from second place to sixth - just one point ahead of seventh-placed Blau-Weiß. The Linzers would also move up the table if they were tied on points.

Rapid aiming for victory by all means
Despite the win, the overtime on Thursday in the European Cup against Banja Luka did not necessarily help. "It's challenging, but we know this situation. We haven't always dealt with it well so far. You also have to say that we haven't always reached our performance limits in the league after European highlight games. We have to change that now," demanded Klauß. The only important thing against GAK was to win. "With everything we have at our disposal. It's not about the manner."

Robert Klauß

(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

Captain Matthias Seidl was quick to rule out a lack of strength as an excuse for Sunday. "I believe that a sense of achievement like this can give you an extra push, extra energy. After the match on Sunday, it's the international break anyway, so we'll use all our strength, put in a great performance and get three points," said the 24-year-old.

Klauß was certainly prepared for a tough match. "It will be important that we take away their momentum. GAK are extremely dangerous on set-pieces offensively, that's where they have their greatest strength and biggest weapon. We have to defend that well," said the German, who is counting on support from outside. "We need our fans, we need the stadium so that we can generate stress." 18,500 tickets had already been sold by Thursday.

GAK as a Rapid scare?
GAK already proved in the fall that they can hurt Rapid. The match in Graz almost ended in a home win if it hadn't been for Dion Beljo's penalty in the 93rd minute that saved the Viennese side a 1-1 draw. Coach Rene Poms' squad will be looking for a similar performance in Vienna and a reaction to the bitter defeats against Vienna Austria (1-2) and in the derby (1-2). "We've had to accept such low blows several times before. But something like that shapes the team. When the sun is shining, it's easy to be amused, but these are points that help you develop. That will help us a lot in the qualifying group," Poms was convinced.

Rene Poms

(Bild: GEPA)

The "Red Devils" will be missing the injured loan striker Romeo Vucic (pubic bone), who needs surgery and whose season is over prematurely, as well as the suspended Marco Perchtold and Christian Lichtenberger. Poms is also not allowed to be on the sidelines due to suspension. "I'm assuming that I'll find a place in the stands. We work out everything in the training week anyway. When the team lines up, they'll know what to do anyway," said Poms, who will be replaced on the pitch by his partner Dino Skvorc. Rapid right-back Bendeguz Bolla will have to watch on for the same reason.