Sturm Graz – St. Pölten

Sturm Graz hosts St. Pölten in a match from the first round of the Austrian Bundesliga. The game is going to be played at the Merkur Arena in the city of Graz.

Last season these two teams finished their participation in the Bundesliga at very different positions. Sturm qualified for the Europa League after finishing 3rd, while St. Pölten barely avoided relegation. They finished 9th with just two points above the relegated Ried.

Taking this into account, it’s absolutely understandable why Sturm are the heavy favourite in this match. You can add the fact that the club from Graz will have the home ground advantage in this clash.

It’s too early to say what are going to be Sturm’s ambitions this season. But most surely, they will try to at least keep their performance from the last campaign. Which means that qualification for the Europa League is a must for them.

As for St. Pölten, we could expect that their main goal is going to be once again surviving and avoiding relegation to the 1. Liga.

Although these two teams ended their seasons in a totally different fashion, surprisingly they were pretty even in the direct clashes in the Bundesliga during the 2016/17 campaign. Both of them enjoyed two wins against each other from four games played. Can St. Pölten repeat their successful performance against Sturm this season as well?

It’s clear that Sturm Graz are the better team from the two. But you should be careful and the head to head record is a proof for that. Somehow St. Pölten are an uncomfortable opponent for Sturm, so have this in mind before betting on this one. Yes – Sturm are better and they have the home ground advantage, but St. Pölten are playing good against them. For some reason.