Poland’s champions, Lech Poznan, will face Austria Vienna on Thursday evening at the Generali Arena in Austria Vienna.
The Violets have an excellent opportunity to advance to the knockout round of the competition, even though they have earned only one point in their first four matches.
Our Match Preview: Austria Vienna vs Lech Poznan
Austria Vienna recently played Red Bull Salzburg, Villarreal, and Sturm Graz in what were likely their three hardest home matches of the season in a row, and they lost them all.
Their troubling run of form began with a 4-1 loss to Lech in the first meeting between the two teams, and since then they have won just two of nine games while losing six and allowing 22 goals.
Their only point in the group comes from a scoreless draw against Hapoel Be’er Sheva on matchday one. However, they have since lost three games, the last two by significant margins, bringing their goal difference to a negative nine.
That’s why it’s so impressive that they’re still in the running to qualify, but a victory today is crucial if they want to catch up to Lech and qualify.
Lech’s recent away record doesn’t bode well for that goal; the Poles have dropped only three of their previous 20 games away from home, but those three defeats have all come in European competition (against Villarreal, Vikingur, and Qarabag).
Lech is in a strong position to join Villarreal, who are currently in the knockout rounds as group winners, even though Villarreal is a significant distance ahead of them and Lech’s European campaign seems to have impacted Lech’s domestic play so far this season.
Defeat in UECL qualifying in August saw the defending champions down to seventh place, 10 points behind leaders Rakow Czestochowa.
Their problems are exacerbated by the fact that they have to rely so heavily on their Swedish striker Mikael Ishak for goals when last year the whole squad scored with relative ease.
Ishak has contributed to 12 of their 22 goals domestically and in their group so far, and while losing Jakub Kaminski to Wolfsburg was bound to be a big loss, the form of Joao Amaral has fallen off a cliff this season, so much so that the 14-goal man from last season has rarely started this campaign.
Our Team News: Austria Vienna vs Lech Poznan
Nikola Dovedan made his debut for Austria Vienna over the weekend against LASK Linz, but since he is not enrolled in their UECL roster, he will neither take part in this match nor in their final group game, which will take place in Israel. Dovedan’s debut came in his first game for Austria Vienna.
Because Austria Vienna now has several players out with injuries, this is not good for the team’s manager, Manfred Schmid.
Ziad El Sheiwi and Florian Wustinger, both of whom are only teenagers, will be sidelined until the year 2023 while they recover from their respective ACL injuries. Additionally, Austria Under-21 international Muharem Huskovic will not play again until after the World Cup because he is also dealing with a knee injury.
Lukas Muhl, who left their most recent win away to Rapid Vienna with an injury, could return here in defense, which is good news. Additionally, Marko Raguz is back in training and is working toward making his debut for the club after signing with them from LASK. He hopes to do so before the break for the World Cup.
Former Leeds United player Barry Douglas will not be available for Lech since the Scotsman has not played since suffering an injury in the first half against Hapoel Be’er Sheva. As a result, Pedro Rebocho will continue to fill in as a left defender for Lech in this match.
Due to an adductor problem, Bartosz Salamon has been out for the better part of the year. As a result, Alan Czerwinski has had the chance to establish himself as a starting player for the side this season.
- Austria Vienna possible starting lineup: Fruchtl, Ranftl, Lucas Galvao, Meisl, Martins, Braunoder, Fischer, Teigl, Fitz, Polster, Gruber.
- Lech Poznan possible starting lineup: Bednarek, Pereira, Czerwinski, Milic, Rebocho, Velde, Murawski, Karlstrom, Skoras, Szymczak, Ishak.
Our Prediction: Austria Vienna 1-1 Lech Poznan
Both teams have struggled to find success in front of the net as of late, and Austria Vienna’s lone goal in the competition came in the first matchup against their group opponents. Despite this, Austria Vienna nevertheless suffered a crushing defeat.
It’s probable that Lech will be content with a draw tonight and will look to Villarreal to save their bacon against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the other Group C matchup.
