SV Oberbank Ried vs LASK Admiral Bundesliga preview, Digi Mart USA News: LASK faces a tough test in the Innviertel before the international break, as SV Oberbank Ried look to make a fight of it in the twelfth round of the Admiral Bundesliga. Ried pushed the double winners hard in the ÖFB Cup recently and believe they can get something out of the match.
The defending champions needed extra time to beat Ried 5:4 in the cup, and they have left the Innviertel without a win in the league four times in a row. Ried have gone six rounds unbeaten, drawing with Salzburg and Sturm Graz, and sit sixth, four points ahead of seventh-placed WSG Tirol.
LASK, third in the table and eleven points behind leader Rapid, cannot afford slips in the league while competing in the Champions League. Their 4:0 win over Slovan Bratislava this week lifted spirits, but captain Sascha Horvath said the team must “come down well again” before the final league match before the break.
Ried coach Dietmar Kühbauer said his side is prepared for a tight and competitive Upper Austria derby. Of the last six Bundesliga meetings between the teams, Ried have won once and drawn four times.
Kühbauer described the cup progression as an “important step” and is expected to rotate his attack.
Sporting director Lukas Brandl described the first half of the season as a “very nice snapshot” and praised coach Mario Despotovic for his “excellent work.” Apart from long-term absentee Alessandro Goiginger, all Ried players are fit. Brandl called the match “highly emotional” and a “David versus Goliath” contest.
Ried: Leitner – Radonjic, Chukwudi, Steurer – Rossdorfer, Maart, Malicsek, Pomer – Nasrawe – Kiese Thelin, Rhodes.
LASK: Jungwirth – Mbuyamba, Tornich, Andrade – Jörgensen, Bogarde, Horvath, Dibango – Ljubicic – Lang, Kalajdzic.
