On Sunday (5:00 pm), the Veilchen will welcome Blau-Weiß Linz to the Generali-Arena. By Thursday afternoon, 14,000 tickets had already been sold. Helm's eleven are on a high after four wins in a row recently and want to extend their streak against Linz.

Head coach Stephan Helm on...

...on reaching the cup quarter-finals:
‘We put in a very focussed performance right to the end, pressing Horn into their own half for 90 minutes, even though second division teams know how to keep their opponents away from goal. The whole stadium was enveloped in purple, that was great, many thanks to our fans. We are well deserved to progress.’

...the starting eleven appearance of Marko Raguž:
‘Marko has earned his place in Horn. He has fuelled the internal competition and is fully integrated into the team. We wanted to bring in a penalty-area player because the spaces were tight. He fitted in well. But we still have to keep an eye on how long and how intensively he plays.’

...Cup quarter-final opponents Sturm Graz:
‘At some point the Bundesliga teams will come. Now it's Sturm Graz. We will do everything we can to reach the next round.’

...Blau Weiß Linz:
‘They've already shown this year how dangerous they can be. They have a lot of continuity in the team and a super individualist in Ronivaldo. Every game in this league is close. We'll be prepared.’

...the current run of his team:
‘The team is extremely hungry and receptive. We have set many different themes and have a clear idea of where we want to go. The phases in which we bring our game onto the pitch are getting longer and longer. When things aren't going so well in terms of play, we defend with discipline. Training a team is like renovating a church: When you've finished with the tower, you start again at ground level. It's a permanent process.’

...the routine of his team:
‘It's not age that matters, it's performance. The players on the pitch have to fit together. That's what they're doing at the moment. We are very stable. It's helpful for all of us.’

...the competition in attack:
‘There's a new decision to be made every week. They are always very close. We have six different types of players up front. It depends on their form and how the players present themselves in training. If you want to get minutes, you have to work for it over a longer period of time.’

Goalkeeper Samuel Şahin-Radlinger on...

...the defensive power:
‘We've conceded very little in the last few games. For me as a goalkeeper, that's obviously pleasing. It's a team effort, the defence starts with the strikers.’

...Cup opponents Sturm Graz:
‘If you want to win the Cup, you have to knock out opponents like that sooner or later. I had a good experience with Ried in Graz back then and I'm looking forward to the game with a lot of confidence.’

...his guest appearance at Almere City:
‘My Holland year wasn't very beneficial, of course, when you're just sitting on the bench. I have to play as a goalkeeper. That's working quite well now. It took a while until the first one-nil game, then the confidence came. We're working really hard to stabilise ourselves defensively.’

Squad news

Luca Pazourek and Johannes Handl have both been fully integrated into training. Both will probably get their first minutes during the international break (at the charity test match in Traiskirchen on 15 November). Patience is still required for Ziad El Sheiwi.