Conference League

LIVE: Can SK Rapid win at Lech Poznan?

Will Rapid defender Nenad Cvetkovic have something to cheer about today?(Bild: EPA/Tibor Illyes)

First matchday of the 2025/26 Conference League season: SK Rapid face Polish side Lech Poznan away from home. We report live (see below). The score is currently 0:0!

Here is the LIVETICKER:

Rapid start their second season in the league phase of the Conference League today at Polish champions Lech Poznan. After reaching the quarter-finals on their debut, expectations are high for the Viennese side. However, they will not be going into the game at the Poznan Stadium with a capacity of more than 40,000 spectators with the greatest self-confidence, as they recently suffered a setback with a 3-1 defeat in the derby against Austria.

Peter Stöger(Bild: GEPA)

"The players have licked their wounds and are ready for the game," emphasized Rapid coach Peter Stöger before departing for Poland on Wednesday. The 59-year-old will still not be able to rely on winger Petter Nosa Dahl due to muscular problems, while striker Janis Antiste is also doubtful. With or without him, Hütteldorfer are determined to get back to winning ways after two league games without a win. "We have confidence in ourselves, but we have to show a different face than we did in the derby," said Stöger.

Stöger warned against Ishak
Against the local rivals, he had criticized above all the tackling in the defensive area, making it easy for Austria to record an away win. That must not happen in Poland, where the 32-year-old Swede Mikael Ishak, a dangerous center forward who has scored 12 times in 14 competitive matches, awaits. Stöger described him as a "very intelligent target striker with high quality". However, the captain of the team currently seventh in the Polish Ekstraklasa table is not the only reason why Rapid will have a lot to look forward to. "It's a very exciting team that is very good at soccer."

Next up are Fiorentina (h), a big-name opponent, and Craiova (h), Rakov (a), Omonia Nicosia (h) and Zrinjski Mostar (a), all supposedly smaller opponents. "The basic idea is to score points so that we can continue to play internationally next year. We have to work at the upper limit in terms of performance, because the opponents we've got may not have the most illustrious names, but they have a lot of quality. That also applies to Lech Poznan," explained Rapids' coach. With a market value of 51.15 million euros, his team has an advantage over the hosts (42.65 million).

Good memories of Poland
Rapid has fond memories of Poland from the recent past. On July 28, 2022, they won 2:1 at Lechia Gdansk in the Conference League qualifiers, and last season they also won 2:1 at Wisla Krakow on July 25, 2024 in the Europa League qualifiers. Rapid have never faced Lech Poznan at test match level either. It will be the fourth away trip of the current European Cup season after qualifying appearances at Decic Tuzi (2:0), Dundee United (victory on penalties after 2:2) and ETO Györ (1:2). At the same time, it is the dress rehearsal before the league clash in Salzburg on Sunday.

Like Rapid, Lech are two games without a win in the league, most recently drawing 2-2 against Jagiellonia Bialystok for the second game in a row. "It's normal to be disappointed after a home draw, but we're 100 percent motivated," said right-back Joel Pereira. His coach Niels Frederiksen will only be without the long-term injured Daniel Hakans, Patrik Walemark and Ali Gholizadeh. Compared to the league, he expected "higher quality" at European level.

The most important thing is to be compact and work well against the ball. According to the Dane, Lech will probably have the ball a lot against Rapid, "especially if we show our quality". Lech's clear goal is promotion. "We are very ambitious and want to create magical evenings," said the 54-year-old. The home fans also want to contribute to this, Rapid can expect a cauldron.