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At LASK, hopes of winning the knockout duel for the second time in a row in the Europa League were bolstered by last week’s performances. 7-0 against Dunajska Streda, 3-1 against WAC: the athletes knew how to please. “We fly to Lisbon with great confidence, we have been able to refuel in the last two games. We can perform there with a broad chest, ”said center forward Marko Raguz before leaving for the port city.
“We have shown that we can score goals up front and not allow too much behind. That we are a very good team, ”said the Austrian Under-21 international. The 22-year-old has already scored several times against Sporting: in 1: 2 at the José Alvalade Stadium almost exactly a year ago (October 3, 2019) to guide the guests, then in 3: 0 in Linz to the final score. Raguz saw the proof that Sporting are by no means an overwhelming rival: “We have already shown that we can beat them. We will try again. “
LASK looks towards Lisbon
LASK is getting better and better in time for the Europa League play-off. That fuels Linz’s hopes, like last year, of progressing to the group stage, even if a top-class opponent awaits him in Lisbon with Sporting.
Cov infections reduced Sporting squads
Nine and a half months after the most recent meeting, eight actors will meet again on Thursday at LASK. Marvin Potzmann and Thomas Goiginger, who were also used at the time, are injured. The sport has changed a lot more since then. Coronavirus infections have also reduced the Portuguese workforce in recent weeks.
For example, goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro and left-back Cristian Borja are not due to Covid-19 disease. In the 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the third qualifying round, a total of nine players were absent from the team, some having returned to training.
Europa-League-Play-off
Thursday (9 pm, live on ORF1):
Sporting Lisbon – LASK
Lisbon, José Alvalade Stadium, SR Kulbakow (BLR)
Possible configurations:
Sports: Adan – Neto, Coates, Feddal – Porro, Pedro Goncalves, Wendel, Nuno Mendes – Tiago Tomas, Vietto, Nuno Santos
LASK: Schlager – Wiesinger, Trauner, Filipovic – Ranftl, Holland, Michorl, Renner – Gruber, Raguz, Balic
Champions of the group stage of the Europa League (draw on Friday at 1:00 p.m.).
Sporting expects a strong LASK
So does head coach Ruben Amorim. The 35-year-old returned to training camp the day before the game. He will also be on the sidelines on Thursday. At the Wednesday night press meeting, Amorim was again represented by assistant Emanuel Ferro. He stressed that the Portuguese expect a “very difficult, very strong rival.”
“But we want to dominate at home. The team is very focused, that can be decisive, ”Ferro said about his team. The preseason games were less important, Ferro said: “I don’t think any team thinks about what happened last year.”
“We are already finding out something”
The people of Linz do not want to be fooled by this. The goal is now guarded by Spain’s Antonio Adán, long the second goalkeeper for Madrid’s top clubs, Real and Atlético. Dominik Thalhammer attested that the Sportings team is of high quality overall. In any case, he is well prepared, said the LASK head coach.
Otherwise, trust your own strengths. “We did well too. We are optimistic and we are already finding out something. Although we know that it will be very difficult, tight and complicated ”. Thalhammer also emphasized that his team had recently presented itself as a functional team. Your team should appear with “courage” and “courage”.
Compared to the success against WAC, only saved defender Petar Filipovic will be in the starting lineup. There is concern about James Holland’s commitment. The Australian suffers from an ankle joint. His replacement in midfield would be Lukas Grgic, the ailing Mads Emil Madsen did not travel with him.
If LASK makes the promotion, eyes will turn to Nyon on Friday. The European Football Federation (UEFA) will draw the group stage of the Europa League there at 1:00 p.m. From an Austrian point of view, the WAC and Rapid are already there.
