Preview of the "rematch" in Graz

Four days after the 2-1 home win over Sturm Graz, the Veilchen will play the league leaders from Styria on Sunday (5:00 pm) for the "rematch". Austria are travelling to Graz on Saturday with a broad chest and are highly motivated to face Sturm in the top-of-the-table clash. ‘We have to reward ourselves for our efforts again,’ says Stephan Helm.

It was probably one of the best games this Bundesliga season has seen. Austria beat Sturm Graz 2-1 at the Generali-Arena on Wednesday, and coach Stephan Helm knows how it happened: 'We were very organised, played aggressively and put in an extremely cohesive team performance. We were always present and very clear in our play. It was this mixture that enabled us to play a really strong game against a good opponent.'

'Fans help us enormously'

The Black & Whites will be looking for revenge on Sunday, so it won't be any easier for the Violets. 'I'm expecting a similar game, especially in terms of the style of play. But Sturm will naturally want to put in a few more per cent. It all starts from scratch, we have to go into this game with the same effort, with the same energy and, above all, be right there from the first minute,' says Helm.

Andi Gruber & Co are certainly feeling positive, not just because of the win during the week, but also because of their two matches at the start of the year against Sturm. 'We don't need to hide,' says our number 17, 'because we're unbeaten against Sturm this season. They know what's at stake and will come out with a knife between their teeth.'

Gruber knows that the fans will once again play an important role on Sunday: 'The atmosphere on Wednesday was fantastic, from both sides. It was the same at the games in Graz and helps us enormously. The more Austria fans there are, the cooler it will be and we hope that the fans will carry us a long way again.' Just under 1,000 tickets for the away sector had been sold by Thursday, with the last tickets available at the ticket office in Graz from 2:30pm on Sunday.

Next positive experience in Graz as a goal

Austria will travel to Styria on Saturday after the final training session, and the violet coaching team can call on all players apart from the long-term injured Ziad El Sheiwi and Florian Wustinger as well as Johannes Handl (lateral ligament strain in the knee). 'The team is in very good condition, not only now in this week, but our athletics department and the players themselves are doing a great job, as the last few games have shown,' said a delighted Helm.

He continued: 'We can keep up with all the teams and also have the squad depth to be able to make up for it from the bench. All these components show that we are up there for good reasons. Of course, we want to put in the best possible performance again on Sunday in order to take away a positive experience at the end. It will also be important that we reward ourselves for our efforts in the decisive moments, as we did on Wednesday.'