Austria Bundesliga, Championship Round, Matchday 26, Sunday, 20.04.2025 at 17:00
Second place doesn’t usually interest anyone, but in Austria it’s a little different! That’s because finishing runner-up guarantees a spot in Champions League qualifying and, with it, a lot of money.
According to my Austria Vienna vs. Red Bull Salzburg prediction, Sunday’s battle for second place will be a largely uneventful affair. There are several reasons for this.
That hurt the “Violets” so much! Of course, we’re talking about the 0-2 derby defeat against Rapid, which could have decided the championship.
It may not be that dramatic, but FAK must get back on track against Red Bull Salzburg to prevent the Styrians from pulling away.
It’s a shame, because Austria wasn’t without chances against Rapid. However, Seidl’s early goal visibly threw the second-placed team off their game!
The development of the team, which had the whole of Austrian soccer in fear and trembling before the winter break, is particularly worrying.
The once-victorious Austria has now failed to win any of its last three competitive games and has not even scored against Hartberg (0-1) in the cup, Wolfsberger AC (0-0) or its city rivals (0-2).
This is a disappointing trend, as we are currently in the championship round and all the good work done in the first half of the season could be completely undone. Things are going much better for our upcoming opponent!
Better, but not perfect! After eight Bundesliga matchdays, all of which yielded points (5 wins, 3 draws), Salzburg suffered another defeat last weekend against Sturm Graz (1-2).
Admittedly, the Styrians are probably a bit too strong for them in 2024/25. Goalkeeper Blaswich didn’t have a good day, and RBS couldn’t get a grip on the opposing playmaker Kiteishvili for a second.
Nevertheless, the Mozart city team will face an Austria side in decline this coming Saturday.
The average FAK fan naturally harbors a rivalry with their city rivals – that much is clear. But they truly fear their upcoming opponent.
No team has beaten Austria Vienna as often in recent years as Salzburg.
Their last victory in a direct duel dates back to May 27, 2018. This was followed by four draws and 17 defeats in all competitive games – often without scoring a single goal.
Austria will be without Wiesinger on Sunday, who is suspended after picking up a yellow card and is an important member of the Vienna defense.
However, the list of absentees for the Mozartstadt team is considerably longer and includes the names of various key players such as Gloukh, Onisiwo, and Konaté.
In fact, I believe that the inhibited flow of the ball going forward will prevent the Mozartstadt team from making a big impression offensively. Austria, on the other hand, is currently offering little in terms of attacking play anyway!
I conclude that we will see a low-scoring game in which Austria has every reason to defend a possible 0-0 draw for as long as possible.
RBS is two points behind them, and a draw would prevent the Mozartstadt team from overtaking them.
This is so important because, as runners-up, FAK would finally have another chance to play Champions League football at the Generali Arena. They will therefore tend to play defensively!
I strongly suspect that we will see a tired 0-0 or 1-1 draw.
The general draw odds are 3.40, which I believe is a good balance between risk and reward.
However, those who like to take a little more risk can try the additional condition “under 2.5 goals” as a bonus, which would give them odds of around 4.15 in the event of a goalless draw or a 1-1 draw.
Conclusion: It’s going to be exciting in the capital. A possible Champions League spot promises a lot of money, and Salzburg can’t really afford to miss out on that.
However, the Mozart city team is missing some extremely important elements in attack, which already hampered them in the game against Sturm Graz.
Against a deep-lying Austria side that would be happy with a 0-0 draw, I expect a very tough game on Sunday, with the potential for a goalless first half extremely high.
My Austria Vienna Red Bull Salzburg prediction: Under 2.5 goals.
