Explosive top 6 start

Rapid – LASK will be even hotter than the last 3:3

In the last encounter, three of the six goals were scored after the 90th minute.

(Bild: GEPA pictures/ David Bitzan)

Kick-off for the Bundesliga championship round - and the first clash on Friday couldn't be more explosive: On the one side, SK Rapid, who can't get out of the headlines after the derby scandal. And on the other, LASK, who are under increasing pressure after seven games without a win.

How long does a soccer match last?

Sometimes even weeks longer than just 90 minutes . . .

Ask Rapid! Where, 19 days after the 3:0 win over Austria, there's still more talk about the chanting and verbal contributions following the derby than about their opponents from the first round of the championship, LASK. Although in Hütteldorf they are normally a guarantee for boiling green-white emotions.

This time, however, it's not just about the league, committees and suspensions. "At the moment, I have the feeling that everyone is using the opportunity to point the finger at us and the boys," even Rapid coach Robert Klauß grumbled to the general public.

In view of their difficult sporting situation in Vienna on Friday, the Linzers may well be in the right mood. After seven games without a win, 360 goalless minutes and the absences of Jovicic, Ljubic, Mustapha, Renner and Zulj, it doesn't hurt that the record champions will be without a 14-goal duo in the form of the "choirboys" Guido Burgstaller and Marco Grüll. Nevertheless, LASK coach Thomas Sageder says: "Rapid have a lot of quality!" Which also shows betting odds: Tipp3 pays out €22.5 for a €10 stake on a home win, compared to €31 for an away win.

However, there has not yet been a winner in this duel this season: Namely, both duels ended in draws - but dramatically and not somehow:

• In Linz, Rapid led 1-0 until the 95th minute - when Felix Luckeneder scored.

• In Vienna, LASK were 2:1 ahead until the 91st minute. Then Grüll scored - and the match ended in a draw, but not 2:2. Balic put LASK back in front (95'). But Rapid managed to make it 3:3 (96'). That was a disappointment at first, but Sageder would be happy with a point on Friday: "Our goal is to take something away from Vienna!"