As a clear outsider, Wiener Austria goes into the Europa League play-off first leg against Fenerbahce Istanbul (9 p.m., ORF one live). The market value of the players in the top Turkish club, which also has a former LASK player in its ranks in Mergim Berisha, is 183 million euros. In contrast to SK Rapid, today’s match of Wiener Austria is not a real “million game”. If they were eliminated by Fenerbahce, they would be in the group stage of the UEFA Conference League. The entry fee there would be 2.94 million euros, 700,000 euros lower than in the Europa League, but there would be “only” 500,000 euros per win instead of 630,000 euros. However, LASK already proved last year that it is easier to get a higher point average in the Conference League than in the Europa League due to the weaker opponents, which compensates for a lot. In Viola Park, however, it’s all about victory today. The fact that the game is sold out with 14,000 (permitted) spectators also has to do with the Fenerbahce fans, who will probably give their team half a home game in terms of mood. Before that, however, Austria did everything they could to give the tickets to their own fans. Season ticket holders had a right to a larger contingent of tickets. “We mustn’t be in awe of the big name, we have to get rid of our nervousness as quickly as possible. Probably not that many people assume that we can win this duel. The pressure isn’t on our side,” said Austria’s coach Manfred Smith.
Use of Holland open
Personally, the coach did not look at the cards. Whether the ex-LASK players James Holland and Andreas Gruber can play again after their injuries will be decided at short notice. Only the absence of Marko Raguz is fixed. Fenerbahce is missing Brazilian striker Joao Pedro. The greatest danger comes from Norway’s team striker Joshua King.
Source: Nachrichten
