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On 18 February next year, the WAC will host current English league leaders Tottenham at their alternate location in Klagenfurt. That same day, Salzburg played their first leg at home against Villarreal. While the Wolfsbergers will be in London for the second leg six days later, on February 24, according to UEFA, to avoid two EL games in London – Arsenal are also in the sixteenth final – the “cops” will fight for him. promotion a day later on Thursday the round of the best 16.
For the “Spurs” with stars like Harry Kane and Gareth Bale in the squad and with José Mourinho, an even brighter “figure of light” as a manager, it will be the second meeting with an Austrian club this European Cup season. The Londoners faced LASK in the group stage. For Linz it was 0: 3 in London, at home they won a 3: 3. WAC coach Ferdinand Feldhofer also speculated with surprise. “We are clearly outsiders, but these games must be played first. We will make a plan that we believe can lead to success, ”said the Styrian.
WAC and “Bulls” meet the best teams
Austria’s remaining representatives in the UEFA Europa League await in the top 32 hurdles round. Wolfsberger AC, who reached the knockout round for the first time, faced England leaders Tottenham Hotspur in the draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. For the third time in the recent past, FC Salzburg have to face traditional Spanish club Villarreal.
Feldhofer expects to be arrogant
One small possibility for WAC could be that, unlike Carinthians, Tottenham have to play the entire month of January and play Manchester City a few days before the first match in Klagenfurt. After the trip to Carinthia, the Londoners will play an away derby against West Ham United. Therefore, it is quite possible that Mourinho will forgive many of his stars against WAC as he did against LASK. “They may not take us so seriously,” says Feldhofer.
The 41-year-old is already waiting for him. “It’s a dream and we really deserve these games. That’s pretty much the biggest challenge you can have, ”said Feldhofer. Currently, 2,000 fans would be allowed for the match in London; according to the current state, there would be a ghost game in the Wörthersee stadium. “Hopefully at least a few thousand can come,” said Feldhofer, who expects a hit similar to Feyenoord Rotterdam. The traditional Dutch club lost 4-1 at home and 1-0 away to the outsider Carinthian in the group stage.
The Wolfsbergs’ low level of consciousness despite all their success on the European stage was demonstrated once again by an English sports broadcaster with the English translation of “heaven” in the name. The journalist determined that German Bundesliga VfL Wolfsburg, whom he and his colleagues were much better known, would be Tottenham’s next rival in the European Cup.
Villarreal “not ideal, but interesting”
While WAC is in the knockout round of a European Cup competition for the first time in club history, Salzburg have already made a name for themselves in Europe. They are also very well known with Villarreal’s upcoming opponents. The Spanish have met the Salzburgs twice. 2-0 (home) and 1-0 (away) were the results of the “Bulls” in the group stage matches of the fall of 2009, which ended with a group victory.
Five years later, however, there were two defeats (1: 2 / a, 1: 3 / h) in the last 16 of the Europa League for the final in Salzburg against the Spanish. “He is not the ideal opponent for us, but he is certainly interesting,” was the verdict of Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch. For me he is a strong footballer with a coach who has a lot of experience in the Europa League, “said the American.
Better preparation possible
One of Villarreal’s trump cards is on the sidelines. Coach Unai Emery is a guarantee of success in the Europa League, with Sevilla FC he was the three-time Europa League champion from 2014 to 2016. After passing through Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, the 49-year-old Spaniard became moved to Villarreal this summer. He is currently fourth, four points behind the leader Real Sociedad. Since returning to the top in 2012/13, the club has placed in the top six six times in seven seasons, and in 2019/20 it finished fifth.
However, Marsch expects good chances of promotion to the round of 16. “An advantage for us is that we only had two or three games before the game against Frankfurt last year (of the round of 32, note). Five or six this year. That is an advantage in preparation, ”said the American. “The technical quality of La Liga is very high. That can be good for our pressing football. But it is also a great challenge. If we are not good at pressing and counter-pressing, we can have a lot of problems in another way. We have to learn from our experience in the Europa League last year, ”Marsch said.
