Ticket sales were very successful for the Viennese in the run-up to the game, the Allianz Stadium could be sold out for the second time in the 20th round of the Admiral Bundesliga after the Vienna derby in October. “We’re looking forward to playing against such a strong opponent in front of our fans,” said coach Zoran Barisic. The duel with the Salzburgers is an important location determination. “We want to know where we stand and where we need to improve.”
The respect for the superior leaders is great. “For me, Salzburg is a top European team that has developed incredibly over the past few years. We know that they are always extra motivated against us. They only have one more competition to play, so they won’t rotate.” Barisic sees the defending champion’s commitment against Rapid as a compliment. “We feel flattered and respected.”
Excitement before Rapid against Salzburg
In the Bundesliga, Rapid Vienna and Red Bull Salzburg meet on Sunday. The record champions from Hütteldorf have been waiting for a win against the Bulls for 16 games. The Hütteldorfer are positive about the latest results.
Hütteldorfer need “perfect day”
The dreary record against Salzburg leaves Barisic cold. “The statistics don’t speak for us, of course, but the game starts at 0-0. I don’t care what happened in the past. ”Nevertheless, the distribution of roles is clear. “I assume we’re not the favourites. We have a full team waiting for us. To win, you need a perfect day and a bit of luck,” said Barisic, emphasizing: “We’ll give it our all and hopefully be brave.”
Bundesliga, 20th round
Sunday, 5 p.m.:
Rapid – Salzburg
Allianz Stadium, SR Muckenhammer
Possible lineups:
Rapid: Hedl – Kasius, Querfeld, Sollbauer, Auer – Pejic, Kerschbaum – Bajic, Greil, Zimmermann – Burgstaller
Salzburg: Köhn – Dedic, Solet, Pavlovic, Ulmer – Gourna Douath – Capaldo, Gloukh, Seiwald – Adam, Okafor
Midfielder Patrick Greil, who scored his first Bundesliga goal for Rapid last week at Wolfsberger AC, made a similar statement. “You always have chances against Salzburg, so it’s about taking advantage of those chances. If we dare to do anything, anything is possible,” said the native of Salzburg.
Viennese list of injuries still long
In addition to the long-term injuries, his club will also have to do without Ferdy Druijf and Nicolas Kühn, who are suffering from muscle problems, on Sunday. The latter in particular is increasingly becoming a problem child. “Sometimes he’s good, then not so good. He’s gotten progressively better lately. I hope that it will be available to us in the near future. He’s a player who can make the difference,” says Barisic.
The recently injured Marco Grüll and Oliver Strunz could be fit for the Salzburg match. Thorsten Schick should be an issue for the derby against Austria in a week after surviving pubic inflammation.
Despite the personnel worries, Rapid can look back on five wins from the last six competition games. “We have very positive energy in the team and in the whole club,” reported Managing Director Sport Markuskatzer. Therefore he is convinced that Hütteldorfer can win against Salzburg.
Salzburg captain Ulmer in front of a milestone
The anticipation of the league hit is also great in Salzburg. “Of course we know how important this game is, especially for our fans. We will approach the whole thing in a focused and motivated manner,” announced coach Matthias Jaissle.
At the same time, the German warned: “Rapid has been very stable over the past few months and is also a well-formed team individually. But as always, we look primarily to ourselves and want to assert our style of play.”
Salzburg captain Andreas Ulmer would play his 400th game in the Bundesliga if he played against Rapid – as the 35th player since the club was founded. The 37-year-old would have one match more than Austria’s footballer of the century Herbert Prohaska.