Wolfsberger AC vs Sturm Graz – 23/07/2022
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Wolfsberger host Sturm Graz on Saturday to kick off the Austrian Bundesliga season. These teams had excellent 2021-22 seasons in the Bundesliga and will hope to challenge Red Bull Salzburg for the title.
Sturm Graz finished last season in second place with 37 points from 22 matches prior to the playoff round. In the playoffs, Sturm Graz ended the championship round in second place and qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round.
Dominanz in ⚫️⚪️! Von 17 Torschüssen fanden 6 den Weg ins Tor – damit wünschen wir euch noch ein schönes Wochenende!? #sturmgraz #RÖTSTU #GlaubeWilleMut
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RÖT 0:6 STU | ⏱️ 90′ pic.twitter.com/qitV2OhUhu— SK Sturm Graz (@SKSturm) July 16, 2022
Wolfsberger, on the other hand, finished the season in third place also on 37 points from 22 regular season matches.
In the playoffs, Wolfsberger slipped to fourth, but still qualified for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round.
Coach Robin Dutt leads Wolfsberger into the new season. It is his second campaign in charge of the Wolves.
Dutt could give debuts to new signings Thierno Ballo and Nikolaos Vergos. Ballo joined from Chelsea and will play as an attacking midfielder.
Wolfsberger played in the OFB Cup winning against Kuchl 4-1 on July 17. Dutt used a 3-4-1-2 formation. Forward Tai Baribo scored twice.
Christian Ilzer leads Sturm Graz into matchday No. 1. Ilzer has been head coach of Sturm Graz since July 2020. Tomi Horvat is the club’s biggest signing this summer so far as he arrived from NS Mura for £495,000.
Centre-back Dominik Oroz joined the team from Dutch side Vitesse on loan for the new season. Sturm Graz are also coming off of a midweek OFB Cup match win. Sturm Graz won 6-0 against Rothis. Manprit Sarkaria and Rasmus Hojlund scored two goals each in the win.
Jakob Jantscher and Otar Kiteishvilli are both doubts to make the Sturm Graz squad due to injury. For Wolfsberger, Ervin Omic and Jonathan Scherzer are both doubts to make the squad due to fitness issues.
The last six games between these teams have been split right down the middle with Wolfsberger winning three times and Sturm Graz claiming three wins. The away team won each of the last six games between these sides.
Sturm Graz are on a three-game winning streak away to Wolfsberger. Confidence should be high that the visitors can claim another victory on the road. Four of the teams’ last five encounters finished with over 2.5 goals scored.
The trend of the visitors winning should continue this weekend with Sturm Graz picking up a win away versus Wolfsberger. The over 2.5 goals trend should also continue as Sturm Graz win 2-1.
