Balic makes his debut for Altach against LASK

Last Sunday, Balic still played for LASK when they entered the cup semifinals against Klagenfurt (1-0). The 26-year-old came on as a substitute in the 87th minute. The day after he made the loan move to Altach – and he could be in the starting XI of the LASK opponent on Sunday.

“He’s fully fit and can play,” said Altach coach Miroslav Klose. The World Cup record scorer left it open whether he would actually nominate Balic.

With or without Balic: LASK wants to take the next points from Altach on the way to the master group. The lead is currently seven points on the table seventh. Coach Dietmar Kühbauer remained modest in his short-term goal with six rounds to go before the points were shared: “We’re aiming for the championship group. We can take the first step there on Sunday.” Altach has proven to be good ground in the past, the Linzers have remained undefeated in the last eleven guest appearances in the country. Also in the first leg of the current season kept the LASK with 4:1 the upper hand.

“We’re going to Altach to score points”

“We’re going to Altach to score points,” explained Kühbauer, who warned of the opponent: “We are aware that it will be hard work. Altach also showed good football in the autumn, I don’t measure tenth place in the table there too much importance.” With the exception of the long-term injured Yannis Letard, Tobias Anselm, Jan Boller and Philipp Wiesinger, all professionals are fit for action.

The preparations in Linz were extremely satisfactory. In nine test games it brought the LASK to seven wins and two draws, and there were no serious injuries. A lot is also expected of the two new signings of the winter: Nigerian attacking player Moses Usor came on loan from Slavia Prague, as did Ukrainian Maksym Talowijerow. Both made their debuts in the 1-0 win over Klagenfurt in the cup.

New competition in Altach

In Altach, the anticipation of the first competitive game after an “unusually long break and preparation is very big,” as Klose emphasized. After a sparse autumn, the Vorarlbergers are in tenth place with 15 points, four points ahead of Hartberg at the bottom. You are prepared for the second half of the season as well as for the duel on Sunday. Klose: “Now we have to make sure we get points. We have to work hard for every point.”

In the preparation, clear steps forward were made, especially in the area of ​​fitness. “It’s important to keep our intense style of play going for 90 minutes,” said Klose, who also referred to renewed competition in his squad. Altach struck seven times on the transfer market, signing, among others, the experienced German Mike-Steven Bähre and, in addition to Balic from LASK, also loaned out Andreas Jungdal and Marko Lazetic from AC Milan and David Herold from Bayern Munich.