Wolfsberger and Austria Klagenfurt are in action for the first time in the 2024-25 Austrian Bundesliga campaign when they square off at the Lavanttal-Arena on Saturday.
Having failed to win any of the most recent three meetings between the sides since September 2022, Die Violetten will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and begin the season as they mean to go on.
Match preview
Wolfsberger picked up a dream start to the season as they stormed to a 7-0 victory over amateur side DraBbueg in the opening round of the OFB Cup last Friday.
A fifth-minute own goal from Marcel Etzelstorfer opened the floodgates at the Sportplatz DraBburg as Thomas Sabitzer, Thierno Ballo, Angelo Gattermayer and Emmanuel Agyemang all found the back of the net to fire the visitors to a resounding win.
This was in keeping with their impressive showing in pre-season, where Dietmar Kuhbauer's men went unbeaten in their six warm-up matches, claiming four wins and playing out stalemates against Strasbourg and Udinese respectively.
Wolfsberger come into the 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign looking to build on their performance from last term as they finished first in the relegation group table before suffering a narrow defeat against Austria Wien in the Europa Conference League qualifying playoff.
Following a disappointing run of results in the regular season, the Pellets upped the ante at the business end of the campaign, picking up four wins from their final five games in the relegation round to finish top of the standings.
However, Wolfsberger's dreams of reaching the Conference League qualifiers came to an end in the playoffs as they were beaten 2-1 by Austria Wien on May 21 courtesy of goals from Matteo Meisl and Dominik Fitz.
Austria Klagenfurt, on the other hand, ran out of steam in the Championship Round as they picked up just one win in their final 10 games to finish sixth in the table, six points off the Conference League qualifying playoff spot.
Peter Pacult's men had enjoyed a stunning first half of the season, claiming eight wins and 10 draws from their first 22 matches to collect 34 points and finish fourth in the standings, one point off third-placed LASK Linz.
Klagenfurt enjoyed a solid pre-season campaign as they picked up three wins and one draw from their six matches, with their only defeat friendly coming on July 20, when they were beaten 2-1 by Turkish side Caykur Rizespor.
Like Wolfsberger, Die Violetten head into this weekend's league opener off the back of an outstanding cup display as they cruised to a 5-0 victory over Regionalliga Ost side Gloggnitz last Friday.
David Tosevski, Nicolas Binder, Christopher Cvetko and Ben Bobzien scored in the first half to put the visitors in a commanding lead before Bobzien grabbed his second of the game in the 71st minute to complete the rout.
While Klagenfurt will be looking to kick off the season on a high, Saturday's game pits them against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in nine of their last 11 encounters, losing seven and claiming two draws since September 2018.
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Team News
Ballo scored one and set up another when Wolfsberger picked up a 4-0 victory against Austria Klagenfurt in their last meeting back in November and the 22-year-old winger will be one to watch this weekend.
He should team up with Angelo Gattermayer and January signing Sankara Karamoko in the front three, while Adis Jasic and Georgia international Sandro Altunashvili should combine in the centre of the park.
Former Bochum man Dominik Baumgartner, who started 30 league games last season, should marshal the defence, teaming up with Ervin Omic and 32-year-old Simon Piesinger in the back three.
As for Klagenfurt, Jonas Arweiler, who made 25 league appearances last season, will play no part in this weekend's matchup after the German striker recently completed a move to SC Verl.
Bobzien was a standout performer in last week's cup victory — netting two goals and providing one assist — and the Mainz loanee should retain his role in Die Violetten's attack, alongside Binder and 23-year-old Tosevski.
Cvetko and Tobias Koch should also team up in midfield, while we expect 34-year-old Thorsten Mahrer to retain his role at the heart of the three-man defence.
Wolfsberger possible starting lineup:
Gutlbauer; Omic, Baumgartner, Piesinger; Scherzer, Jasic, Altunashvili, Diabate; Ballo, Gattermayer, Karamoko
Austria Klagenfurt possible starting lineup:
Knaller; Robatsch, Mahrer, Szerencsi; Kuhn, Cvetko, Koch, Bonnah; Bobzien, Binder, Tosevski
We say: Wolfsberger 2-1 Austria Klagenfurt
With the last five meetings between Wolfsberger and Klagenfurt producing a combined 23 goals, we anticipate another thrilling and end-to-end affair at the Lavanttal-Arena this weekend. Wolfsberger's home advantage gives them a slight edge here and we are backing them to extend their dominance over the visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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