Salzburg Regional League Matchday 21: FC Pinzgau Saalfelden vs. SV Seekirchen
April 2 2022 (16:00 CET), Saalfelden Arena
How To Watch:
English Stream – fan.at and fcps.at
The Opposition:
SV Seekirchen, who are based in the town of Seekirchen am Wallersee, were founded in 1945 shortly after the Second World War came to an end. However, they spent the first half a century of their existence languishing in the lower leagues of Austrian football and it was not until 1997 that SVS climbed to the third tier for the first time in their history. They spent the next few seasons yo-yoing between divisions but have now been in the third tier without interruption since regaining promotion ahead of the 2002/03 campaign.
Several youngsters who came through the club’s ranks in the late 1980s and early 1990s went on to become household names in Austrian football, with Robert Ibertsberger, Andreas Ibertsberger and Thomas Winklhofer all representing their country on multiple occasions. More recently, Stefan Lainer has excelled with Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Austrian national team since coming through the Seekirchen academy.
Team News:
The duo of defender Denis Kahrimanovic and midfielder Lukas Moosmann will miss the game for FC Pinzgau Saalfelden, but coach Christian Ziege can call on defender Niklas Mühlbacher, who has now served his suspension. Joao Pedro is also set to return and could make the starting XI, while David Rathgeb has resumed training after returning from his travels.
Fabian Neumayr was the biggest goal threat for Seekirchen in the regular season (nine goals), but he departed for Blau-Weiss Linz over the winter break and has now been overtaken in the internal scoring charts by Aaron Boold Volkert (eight goals), who has netted in both matches since the restart to take his total tally for the campaign into double figures.
Recent Form:
Having been awarded a 3-0 win for their cancelled Spring Season opener against Wals-Grünau, FCPS came from behind to draw 1-1 in Grödig last time out – a game in which Tamas Tandari scored to take his league goal tally to 15 for the season. Ziege’s men are now second in the table on 19 points, level with league leaders and next opponents Seekirchen, who have won both games since the restart – a 3-1 victory in Grödig and a 2-0 win at home to Anif.
Head-To-Head Record
SVS boast the superior head-to-head record, having won 10 and lost seven of the 23 meetings between the clubs, while there have been six draws. FCPS ran out 5-1 winners thanks to Tamas Tandari’s hat-trick the last time they met at the Saalfelden Arena in August, but lost the away fixture 2-1 in October – a setback that all but ended their hopes of a top-two finish.