Rapid vs. Salzburg: The duel of the hope and serial breaker!

Rapid vs. Salzburg: The duel of the hope and serial breaker!

On Sunday at 5 p.m. there will be an excited duel between FC Red Bull Salzburg and SK Rapid Vienna in the Red Bull Arena. Both teams have not exactly shone at the international level lately. Salzburg coach Thomas Letsch is particularly concerned and described the performance of his team as "despondent" and "alarming" at the last appearance in Lyon. After all, Salzburg has lost four of the last five competitive games, which increases the pressure on Letsch to provide a sense of achievement. Rapid, on the other hand, is very different: Currently in first place in the table, you know the difficulties that you have had in Salzburg for a long time. There have been 12 years and 18 league games since Rapid recently won in the Mozart city.

In this tense situation, it is not surprising that Letsch - in the context of the coming game - once again emphasized the need for a better presentation of its players. On the other hand, Rapid coach Peter Stöger has had a difficult week before the game. Despite these adversity, he motivates his team by pointing out broken series this season. Now it is time to restore the lost compactness to have more success against the Salzburg.

Setup and changes

Personnel changes at Salzburg are expected. Young star Kerim Alajbegovic, who recently switched from Bayer Leverkusen to Salzburg and has signed a contract there until 2028, will probably be in the starting eleven. He is considered a hopeful because he performed well after his substitution in Lyon. The 17-year-old scored 16 goals in a total of 32 games for the U19 and prepared 12 more goals. Alajbegovic is looking forward to the chance to develop in Salzburg and strives to play at a high international level and to win the championship. His change even ensured that Bayer secured a buyback option, which underlines confidence in his potential.

For Rapid, Matthias Seidl could get another chance of operating time after weak appearances in the center. In addition, Tormann Niklas Hedl has to prove his stability after a few mistakes. Stöger is expected to make some rotation in the team due to the high load and the weak performance in order to catch the best players for the important game.

Space and maps

It is also particularly interesting on the lawn, because Rapid has to struggle with lawn problems that are to be remedied until the next home game. Those responsible are optimistic that the place is back in top condition. In addition, Rapid tries to further revitalize the sold -out encounter against Fiorentina in the Conference League through additional tickets for his fans. So there is a lot when it comes to the whole thing in Salzburg on Sunday!

How Diete teams will ultimately be in the stars, but one thing is certain: the fans of both camps can look forward to an exciting match. Ultimately, however, Salzburg has to show whether the team can absorb the critical voices of the trainer and whether Rapid can end the almost endless thirst track in the Mozart city.

The pressure is there, the only question remains who can deal with it better in this nerve -wracking game.

More information about the change of coaches in the 1st Bundesliga has been available since the 1963/1964 season here.

For current developments and further details about the upcoming game, please read the articles from Kurier and and Transfermarkt.