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“They are easy favorites because they have better chances than us. But we want to do everything we can to get to the next round, and we need a good day for that, ”said Rapid coach Dietmar Kühbauer before the start.
The most convincing offensive player Thomas Murg, who was convincing in the 4-1 win at home against Admira at the start of the Bundesliga, saw it similarly. “We will be outsiders, but I think if we perform like we did against Admira, if we stay calm and if we work that well defensively, then there is definitely a good chance that we can progress.”
Rapid meets Ghent
Rapid is required in the Champions League qualifying in Belgium. While Gent opponents are in chaos after the coach’s dismissal, Rapidler want to use the self-confidence of the successful start to the season to advance.
Big false start and firing of coach
Rapid’s start to the season has been a success with the winning start in the CL classification (1-0 at Lok Zagreb), the ÖFB Cup (5-0 against St. Johann im Pongau) and the league. In Ghent, however, chaos reigns. After five rounds you only have three points on your account after one win and four losses. Instead of fighting for the title at the front, they are currently ranked 16th and third penultimate in a completely different region of the table.
The day before the game against Rapid, the separation of coach Laszlo Bölöni was announced. Thus, the Romanian was in office for less than a month. The decision was not a surprise, as there was a lot of criticism about Bölöni’s tactical direction, for example from forward Roman Yaremtschuk. “We play like a second division team, the way we play football is just bad,” said the Ukrainian. As a result, the MVP Gent was eliminated from the team for the last league game. Now Bölöni has lost the fight for power.
Classification CL, third round
Tuesday, 8.30 pm, live on ORF1
KAA Gent – Rapid Vienna
Arena Ghelamco, SR Ekberg (SWE)
Possible configurations:
Gentleman: Roef – Castro-Montes, Arslanagic, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Fortuna – Kums, Owusu, Dorsch – Niangbo, Kleindienst, Chakvetadze
Quick: Strebinger – Stojkovic, Greiml, Hofmann, Ullmann – D. Ljubicic, Petrovic – Murg, Fountas, Arase – Kara
Winner in the Champions League qualifying play-off, loser in the Europa League group stage
The atmosphere in and around the team made further cooperation impossible, the runner-up announced on Monday that Bölönis, who had only succeeded Jess Thorup in August, was immediately eliminated. Decker’s Kotrainer Wim was named interim coach.
If Yaremchuk is used again against Rapid, no problem for Kühbauer. “Technically he is incredibly well versed and has a total calm with the ball. But a single player cannot decide a game, that is not different for us,” said the coach.
Kvilitaia on the cladding
After the 1: 2 loss in the league against Eupen, there were few positives to be heard from the players. “Our situation is far from ideal. At the moment, our problem is that we are not creating enough chances, “said midfielder Sven Kums. One reason is that captain Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe was not allowed to play due to a positive CoV test and it is also questionable for Tuesday.
Georgian team striker Giorgi Kvilitaia, who went from the Green and Whites in Vienna to the Blue and Whites in Ghent two years ago, is definitely not there against runner-up Austria. The 26-year-old, not on the men’s European Cup player list, is on the sidelines with the Belgians and, according to media reports, is about to be transferred to Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta.
In addition to the long-term injuries of Christopher Dibon and Philipp Schobesberger, the ailing Thorsten Schick is unavailable in Rapid. Kelvin Arase, who was also missing against Admira recently, reported that it fit the time.
Kühbauer compares Ghent with LASK
Compared to the duel with the Südstadters, Kühbauer expected a “much more difficult” game. “It will be a completely different game, they are already a better number than Admira,” the Burgenlander knows. In the Bundesliga, he was more likely to compare Ghent to LASK. “They have a robust physical team that has good players in the ranks. Each player has to be there from the beginning and fully in the duels ”, demanded the Rapid coach.
But you don’t want to worry too much about the 2016 Champions League round of 16. “We have to be very active. I want to see from the first minute that we want to take command, do good deeds and score, ”said Kühbauer, marking the route. Dejan Ljubicic, who recently confirmed that he will remain with Rapid, will lead the Viennese back onto the field as captain. “They are the favorites, but we will do our best to win there,” said the midfielder.
The two teams will meet for the first time in the European Cup. The winner will advance to the Champions League qualifying play-off (22/23 and 29/30 September), the loser will continue in the Europa League group stage from 22 October.
