Cup Duel in a Full House: Rapid Vienna Challenged in Oberwart

SK Rapid does not want to be slowed down in the second ÖFB Cup round either. The Bundesliga leader, still unbeaten in national competition, will visit the regional league team SV Oberwart on Wednesday (7:00 PM/live ORF Sport +). The match is sold out with 6,000 spectators. A festive atmosphere is also expected in Röthis, where the leader of the fourth-class Vorarlberg Elite League will host Bundesliga champion Sturm Graz at 5:00 PM.

Rapid dreams of ending its title drought after a successful start under new coach Peter Stöger. The Hütteldorf team last won the championship in 2008 and has not won the cup since 1995. "The championship and the cup are our most important competitions through which we can qualify for a European competition again," emphasized Stöger.

Rapid has to face Oberwart

So far, there have been five wins in six league matches. At the start of the cup, the Green-Whites defeated Wacker Innsbruck 1-0 away in front of more than 15,000 spectators. "As in the first round in Innsbruck, we expect a full house and a football festival in Oberwart," said Stöger. "We naturally want to advance and are aware of our role as favorites. We will only do justice to this if we approach the task as we did in the last league matches."

Stöger is likely to change his starting eleven in some positions. "But I am not a fan of extremely large rotations," emphasized the former international. According to Rapid, winger Petter Nosa Dahl is close to returning to team training after his muscular problems, but he is likely not yet an option, just like central defender Jakob Schöller.

Last season, the Hütteldorfer were eliminated in the Cup round of 16 with a rotated team against second division team SV Stripfing (1:2). The team, coached by Robert Klauß, had been unbeaten in eleven competitive matches prior to that. This time, there should be no rude awakening in Burgenland. The Informstadion, expanded with natural and additional stands, has been sold out for more than a week. 1,000 Rapid fans alone fill the away sector.

Sturm with Reunion against Röthis

For Rapid, the league continues on Sunday against bottom team GAK. Sturm will already visit runner-up Salzburg on Saturday (both at 5:00 PM) for the top match. For the cup match in Vorarlberg, the Graz team wanted to travel there and back by day flight. "We have to approach Röthis like a league match," demanded captain Stefan Hierländer. "We will take this game very seriously."

Sturm already played at SC Röthis in the first cup round in 2022, winning 6:0 back then. This time, the Graz team started the competition with a 4:0 in Bischofshofen. In the league, the defending champion suffered their second home defeat of the season with a 0:1 against Wiener Austria on Sunday. "We have to deal with this result very critically, but stick to our game plan. That is the key to success," said Hierländer.

For the injured key players Jon Gorenc Stankovic and Otar Kiteishvili, the club will take it day by day. Gorenc Stankovic (shoulder) is likely to make the trip to Vorarlberg, while playmaker Kiteishvili, after his muscle injury, is less likely to, as there are still five matches in two weeks before the international break. "We wanted to start this intense series well and also want to defend the title," said Hierländer about the championship. "The competition is very strong, Rapid is going all in."

(APA/Red)

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