The qualifying group mission for Wiener Austria begins in Altach

Vienna Austria leads the qualifying group with 16 points, ahead of Wydad (15). Behind them are Altach (9), Blau-Weiss Linz (9), WSG Tyrol (7) and Austria Lustenau (5).

The Vienna team wants to get rid of the disappointment caused by its absence from the group stage, especially since the recent sporting results were positive. Austria coach Michael Wimmer said: “We scored 27 points in the last 13 games, and we are the second best team in the second half of the season and we scored 12 points from five games in the spring.”

Now the European Cup must be reached through turns. “Our goal is still achievable and we will not back down from it,” said Wimmer, who respects Altash. “We can expect a team that is very physical, very present in duels, and also has high quality and speed in attack.” Suspended defender Lucas Galvão is not available, but recoveries Luka Pazorec and Manuel Polster, who recently missed for disciplinary reasons, will return.

SCR Altach also wants to have a say in the battle for Europe, but Vorarlberger doesn't want to know anything about the relegation battle. “The obvious goal is to surpass one of the two in front of us. We saw in the spring that we can keep up with any team,” coach Joachim Standqvist explained on Friday. Goal scoring should be better against Austria, despite the absence of the suspended Mike Beer.

Just six days after a 2-0 defeat in Bregenz by Lustenauer Austria, Blau-Weiss Linz has the chance to get revenge. “The start is very important. You definitely have to score points in the first few matches. You can't look completely relaxed. It's important to accept the fight and be fully present,” said Linz coach Gerald Scheppelhner, who split the points. After the game finds that the base round is unfair. “The thing you really worked for will be taken away from you.” Linzers had been waiting to win the league since mid-November.

However, with Lustenauers, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. After the win over Linzer and split the points, Lustenau is now just four points behind Blau-Weiß and two behind WSG Tirol. Coach Andreas Heraf, who took charge of Austria during the winter break, has breathed new life into it. While there were 14 defeats and only three draws in the league in the fall, Vorarlbergers recorded two wins, one draw and two defeats in the spring. “We have shown recently that we are capable of scoring points and winning. So of course now we want to win the match in Linz,” Herav explained confidently.

For Thomas Silberberger, the final qualifying group as coach of WSG Tyrol begins on Saturday. For the home match against Wydad Casablanca, the 50-year-old's motto in the relegation battle is “No loss!” Out of place. However, WSG lost their first two duels of the season with the Wolfsbergers 2:3 and 1:4 respectively. But Silberberger does not want to attach much importance to this. “We made our way through both games. The team knows what to expect and we definitely want to start on a positive note.”

This also applies to Wydad Casablanca, which has made the European Cup a clear goal and also hopes for the “treble”. Coach Manfred Schmid said: “We want to start the final third of the tournament perfectly. The three points will be very important.” “But it will be very difficult. We know how bad the opponent is. They also played very well against Wiener Austria,” said the Lavanthaler coach, looking at the final round of the regular season. Schmid expects a lot of intensity, a lot of duels and a little bit of football in the final ten rounds of the season.