Wolfsberger will be bidding to make it successive victories at the start of their Austrian Bundesliga campaign when they head to Austria Vienna on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors opened their 2024-25 campaign with a 4-1 success over Austria Klagenfurt last weekend, while Austria Vienna suffered a 1-0 defeat to BW Linz in their season opener.
Match preview
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Austria Vienna have won Austria's top flight on 24 occasions, placing them second in the all-time standings behind Rapid Vienna, but they have not lifted the title since 2013.
The Violets finished down in eighth in the Austrian Bundesliga last term, and they have made a disappointing start to their new league campaign, having suffered a 1-0 defeat to BW Linz last weekend.
Stephan Helm's side were in Conference League qualification action last month, meanwhile, but they were unable to progress to the third qualification round, losing on penalties to Ilves following a 5-5 draw over the two legs.
Austria Vienna did manage to progress in the Austrian Cup with a 6-0 success over Pinzgau Saalfelden, but their last two results would have knocked their confidence, and they are now preparing to welcome a Wolfsberger outfit that will be in a confident mood due to their start to the campaign.
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Wolfsberger thumped Drassburg 7-0 on July 26 to progress in the Austrian Cup, before opening their league season with a 4-1 success over Austria Klagenfurt last weekend.
The result has made Manfred Schmid's side the early leaders in the Austrian Bundesliga, and they will now be looking to make it back-to-back successes in Austria's top flight.
WAC have spent the majority of their history in the lower leagues, but they have recently managed to establish themselves in the top flight and actually finished third in 2018-19, before going on to compete in the group stage of the Europa League, and the team played in the same competition in 2020-21, reaching the last-32 stage, where they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur.
Wolfsberger failed to make it through the playoff stage of last season's Conference League, though, and there will not be any European football on offer for the club during the 2004-25 campaign.
WAC are unbeaten in their last three league matches with Austria Vienna, including a 1-0 success when the two teams last locked horns in November 2023.
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Team News
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Austria Vienna are expected to be without the services of four first-team players for Sunday's contest, with Johannes Handl and Florian Wustinger on the sidelines.
Ziad El Sheiwi and Marko Raguz are both back in training following recent injuries, but it is highly unlikely that either player will be considered for selection this weekend.
There are not expected to be any surprises in the home side's lineup, with a 3-4-3 formation again set to include Nik Prelec, who is a new arrival at the club, as the centre-forward.
As for Wolfsberger, head coach Schmid is likely to name the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle of the 4-1 success over Austria Klagenfurt last time out.
Bernhard Zimmermann is a long-term absentee due to a serious knee injury, while Maximilian Scharfetter will spend at least another month on the sidelines recovering from a muscular issue.
Thomas Sabitzer is again expected to lead the line for the visitors, while Thierno Ballo, who is already off the mark this season, should feature in a wide area for WAC.
However, Cheikh Mamadou Diabate might have to be content with a spot on the bench once again.
Austria Vienna possible starting lineup:
Sahin-Radlinger; Potzmann, Plastic, Galvao; Ranftl, Fitz, Barry, Vinlof; Gruber, Prelac, Malone
Wolfsberger possible starting lineup:
Gutlbauer; Matic, Baumgartner, Wimmer, Scherzer; Jasic, Piesinger; Gattermayer, Zukic, Ballo; Sabitzer
We say: Austria Vienna 1-1 Wolfsberger
This is a tough match to call, as Wolfsberger were excellent in their season opener, but Austria Vienna are certainly capable of picking up a positive result. It would not be a surprise to see an away win, but we just have a feeling that the hosts will be able to collect a point on Sunday afternoon.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
