STURM GRAZ v ST POLTEN
Bundesliga
Sunday 28th July 2019
Kickoff: 1600hrs
Pick: Both teams to score
Bookmaker: bwin
Odds: 2.00 (odds taken at 23:27 GMT, 27 July 2019)
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.62 | 4.02 | 5.30 |
* (Betting Odds were taken from 22Bet on July 27, 2019 at 23:27 p.m.)
The Austrian Bundesliga opening round of matches continues on Sunday afternoon when Sturm Graz play host to St Polten as the betting tips continue at the Merkur Arena.
Sturm Graz Prediction – Can Sturm Graz bounce back from midweek defeat?
The hosts were handed a 2-0 defeat away at Norwegian outfit, Haugesund, in the 1st leg of the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League.
It was a long, gruelling season for Sturm Graz last term as they jostled for one of the Europa League positions throughout the campaign.
A 3rd place finish at the end of the regular season was followed by a 5th place finish in the Championship Round phase.
This earned Sturm Graz a Europa league play-off final spot where they squeezed past Rapid Vienna by virtue of the away-goal rule.
A 2-1 win away from home in the 1st leg proved to be enough to see them qualify for this season’s Europa League despite a 1-0 loss at home in the 2nd leg.
The hosts will be desperate to get this season off to a good start though as they ended last season in disappointing fashion.
Sturm Graz lost 4 of their last 5 matches of the season, with their one success being a 2-1 win away from home at Rapid Vienna in the aforementioned play-off.
The hosts lost their last 6 home matches of last season on the trot.
St Polten Prediction – Can St Polten catch Sturm Graz cold on opening day?
The visitors will be hoping they can bring their recent pre-season momentum into this opening fixture of the season at Sturm Graz.
St Polten have won 3 of their last 4 matches overall in recent times as they’ve secured wins over Traiskirchen and Zmojmo in friendlies.
They’ve also registered a win in the domestic Austrian cup with a 2-1 victory away at Gloggnitz, so their confidence has received a welcome boost ahead of this clash.
They may very well need this boost of confidence too as St Polten lost their last 5 matches on the trot in last season’s Bundesliga.
Indeed, the visitors actually ended their campaign without a win from their last 9 matches, or just 1 win from their last 15 matches if you prefer.
Results away from home also received a major dent as they conceded 11 goals in their final two away matches of last season.
A 4-0 loss at Wolfsberger was followed by a horrific 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Salzburg, so they too have a point to prove here.
Key-Facts – Sturm Graz v St Polten
- Sturm Graz lost their last 6 home matches of last season on the trot
- St Polten won just 1 of their last 15 matches of last season’s Bundesliga
- St Polten conceded 11 goals from their last 2 away matches last term
Betting Tips Verdict
Both Sturm Graz and St Polten ended last season in disappointing fashion and both will have points to prove here.
