"We are very confident going into the derby".

Name: FK Austria Wien
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The Violets are looking forward to the Vienna derby on Sunday (5:00 p.m., Allianz Stadium) with confidence: "The win against Sturm has given us confidence, the mood is top. Now we definitely want to win the derby," emphasizes coach Manfred Schmid.

The direction for the derby is clear: "We want to play offensively and put the opponent under pressure. But it's also important that we're well organized and have a good remaining defense," explains Manfred Schmid.

Defense has been one of the Violets' strengths so far this season, with Austria conceding the second-fewest goals after FC Red Bull Salzburg (18 in 16 games): "That's the result of the daily training work. But you can also see that the players are becoming more and more confident and well-rehearsed, and at the same time they are in a really good physical condition. Communication on the pitch and the division of space are now working really well. In addition, we prepare ourselves very precisely for the respective opponent in individual player video analyses," says Schmid.

The situation in the standings before the Vienna derby promises to be exciting. We are level on points with our city rivals in seventh place. Hartberg, in sixth place, also has 20 points, and Austria Klagenfurt is only two points in front in fourth place. There are still six games to be played in the first half of the season, and Austria will host LASK after the derby to close out the year:

"Wir können uns eine richtig gute Ausgangsposition schaffen." - Manfred Schmid

"If we now score properly before the winter break, we can create a really good starting position for the last four rounds of the basic round. The lads have played a really good season so far," says Manfred Schmid.

Our city rival goes into the first game under coach Ferdinand Feldhofer on Sunday: "There are always unanswered questions when a new coach comes in, we will prepare ourselves very well for the opponent and already have some ideas about how they might play. However, as we have done recently, we will again focus primarily on our own players and opportunities," explains Schmid.

Personnel news

Markus Suttner, who had to be replaced with an injury in the 2-1 home win against Sturm Graz, is questionable for the derby: "He has a more serious bruise in the hip area. We still have to wait for the final diagnosis, but we certainly won't take any risks. We also have one or two other injuries and will decide in the next few training sessions who will ultimately play on Sunday," explained Manfred Schmid.