19th round in Austria’s Bundesliga: SK Sturm Graz welcomes SK Austria Klagenfurt. We report live (see below). It is currently 1:1.
Here is the LIVETICKER: After three successes in the highlight weeks at the start of spring, Sturm want to continue to put pressure on Red Bull Salzburg, who are also flawless in the Bundesliga. Tonight Graz will receive the recently weak Austria from Klagenfurt, who are still fighting for a place in the master group. While the Carinthians are two points behind the top 6 with four games to go, Sturm are six points behind leaders Salzburg. In any case, the Styrians want to keep their clean sheet after league wins against Rapid (1-0), Hartberg in the Steirer-Derby (2-1) and a quarter-final triumph in the cup against defending champion Salzburg (6-5 on penalties). After a good start, it is important to remain fully concentrated and to focus on the next tasks,” emphasized trainer Christian Ilzer. The statistics also speak for Graz against Klagenfurt: The Black and Whites have won all five previous Bundesliga duels against Peter Pacult’s squad, plus one in 2019 in the cup. “I’m expecting a very difficult game against a team with a very experienced coach,” said Ilzer. In the past few games, his team played “really well at times”, “but there were also phases that I didn’t like as much,” added the coach, who demanded more “intensity, activity and aggressiveness” from his squad Last week, top performers Gregory Wüthrich, Jakob Jantscher, Otar Kiteishvili and Albian Ajeti will be absent due to muscle injuries. William Böving (ruptured syndesmosis ligament) and Moritz Wels (meniscus) are also still in advanced training. In front of more than 10,600 fans – that’s how many tickets were sold on Friday – Salzburg, who failed in the Europa League and only played against Ried on Sunday, should be at least a little under pressure with a win. “I don’t want to practice reading tables. We can’t influence what Salzburg does anyway,” emphasized Ilzer. The Violettes from Klagenfurt are in a mini-crisis, the last four competitive games have all been lost. Pacult sees one reason for the bad start to the new year in the attitude of his troops. “There is currently nothing to be seen of the virtues that have made us outstanding and strong. We absolutely have to find our way back there,” said the 63-year-old. “Everything seems inhibited. We don’t bring the willingness to run and the duel behavior that is necessary to survive. Cleverness and courage with the ball are also missing.” Striker Markus Pink, who leads the scorer list with twelve goals, shares the same view as his coach. “Everyone has to be aware that it doesn’t work on its own. It is now important to raise your heads, work and move even closer together,” said the Austria captain, who was not yet able to celebrate his own sense of achievement in 2023. Sturm coach Ilzer expected Klagenfurt to “change a few things, maybe simplify them”. For the remaining games in Graz, against Altach, Hartberg and in Lustenau, Pacult does not put his team under pressure. The goal is still to stay in the league. “If we achieve that in March, that would be a huge thing,” emphasized the Viennese. The club and the team would need time to grow. According to Pacult, reaching the championship group in the promotion year like last season would be “anything but normal”.
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