Pure excitement! Semi-finals in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup are approaching – Bundesliga

“Fast your seatbelts!” Fasten seat belts! There’s a “hot ride” ahead: the 2023/24 season UNIQA ÖFB Cup goes to the semi-finals. At the Wednesday April 3rd (8:45 p.m., League portal LIVE TICKER) is a guest SK Rapid in the Monte Schlacko Arena for the ADMIRAL 2nd league promoted team DSV Leoben, which has already knocked three ADMIRAL Bundesliga teams out of the competition. At the Thursday, April 4th (8:45 p.m., League portal LIVE TICKER) there is an explosive duel between series champions in the Red Bull Arena FC Red Bull Salzburg and defending cup champions SK Sturm Graz. Both only met in the league on Easter Sunday.

We’ll see each other again so quickly. Four days after the top game in the league, the striker from Belo Horizonte and the Red Bulls will face SK Sturm Graz again, who are the defending cup champions. After the almost unstoppable 25-year-old Brazilian exploited opportunities in the Red Bulls’ 1-0 win in Graz-Liebenau yesterday, the “Magic Foot from Sugarloaf” wants the Mozartstadt team to win on Thursday in the duel between the “crème de la crème” in Austrian football -Sweet a football evening. Fernando made the music in the quarter-finals and, thanks to his brace, was the match winner in a 3-2 win at LASK at the beginning of February.

DSV Leoben has already thrown three Bundesliga teams out of the cup: WSG Tirol, WAC and SCR Altach

Like last year, SK Rapid can move into the final of the UNIQA ÖFB Cup in Leoben. The Hütteldorfers failed shortly before the goal with a 0:2 against SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz. Rapid won their last title in the competition in the 1994/95 season with a 1-0 win in the final against DSV Leoben. The Styrians, who are the only club from the ADMIRAL 2nd league still represented, made it into the top four teams for the second time this year and have already knocked out three Bundesliga teams: WSG Tirol, RZ Pellets WAC and Cashpoint SCR Altach Throw competition.

The path to the semi-finals:

DSV Leoben GGMT Revolution: ATUS Ferlach (A) 0:1, WSG Tyrol (H) 3:1, RZ Pellets WAC (H) 6:5 nE, Cashpoint SCR Altach (H) 2:1

SK Rapid: SR Donaufeld (A) 0:7, Union Gurten (A) 2:5 nV, SKU Amstetten (A) 1:5, SKN St. Pölten (H) 3:1.

Who will stumble or fall by the wayside? Mika Biereth with cup defending champions SK Sturm Graz or Strahinja Pavlović, who was eliminated with FC Red Bull Salzburg last year in the ÖFB Cup quarter-finals in the Red Bull Arena after a penalty shootout against the Styrians. Speaking of penalty shootouts! The Red Bulls already know this from the round of 16 when Struber’s protégés made it to the top 6-5 in Hartberg thanks to ÖFB team goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

In the previous season, FC Red Bull Salzburg failed against SK Sturm Graz

For SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz it’s all about defending their title this year. FC Red Bull Salzburg is waiting in the semi-finals. Last year, the Graz team broke Salzburg’s streak of four titles in a row. In the final of the 2017/18 season, after four titles en suite, Mozartstadt’s final destination was against Sturm. It was 0-1 after extra time.

Last season, Salzburg lost 4-5 on penalties to the Styrians in the quarter-finals. Just last Sunday there was a direct duel between the two clubs in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, which Salzburg won 1-0.

The path to the semi-finals:

FC Red Bull Salzburg: SCU Ardagger (A) 0:6, SV Austria Salzburg (A) 0:4, TSV Egger Glas Hartberg (A) 5:6 n.E., LASK (A) 2:3

SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz: SAK Klagenfurt (A) 2:7, SV Leobendorf (A) 0:3, GAK 1902 (A) 2:3, FK Austria Wien (H) 2:0

Dates in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup 2023/24 at a glance

Semi-finals with VAR use:

DSV Leoben GGMT Revolution vs. SK Rapid

Wednesday, April 3, 2024, 8:45 p.m. (League portal LIVE TICKER)
SR: Hameter, SRA1: White, SRA2: Obritzberger, 4. Talic, VAR: Hot

FC Red Bull Salzburg vs. SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz

Thursday, April 4, 2024, 8:45 p.m. (League portal LIVE TICKER)
SR: Altmann, SRA1: Brandner, SRA2: Borucki, 4th Ch. Jäger, VAR: Kijas

Finale:

May 1, 2024, 5:00 p.m., Wörthersee Stadium Klagenfurt

Rewards
A bonus of €33,000 will be paid out in the semi-finals for each home club and €55,000 for each visiting club.

WAS
In the UNIQA ÖFB Cup, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used again in both semi-final games this season. The process in the stadium and the technical implementation are carried out as is known from the Bundesliga.

Fair play rating
Since the quarter-finals, points have been awarded again in the fair play ranking presented by STIEGL-Brauerei Salzburg. The evaluation carried out by the ÖFB Venue Directors takes into account, among other things, the behavior of the players, fans and officials. The amount of 10,000 euros will be distributed to the winning club at the end of this year’s cup season for campaigns and projects in the areas of fair play and anti-racism.

PUMA Cup match ball
The two semi-final games (5th round) will be played with the official PUMA Cup match ball.

Voting zum Player Of The Match
In the cup semi-finals you can vote for the Player Of The Match again. To do this, simply download the ÖFB app for free from the App Store or Google Play Store, click on the Live tab during the game and then select the Player Of The Match button in the Game Info tab. Vote for your favorite – done!

This week’s UNIQA ÖFB Cup is about making it to the final. 👀🏆 To the preview ⬇️ #GlaubeWilleMut https://t.co/BfIn2Glcjr

— ÖFB – oefb.at (@oefb1904) April 1, 2024

Photo credit: FC Red Bull Salzburg by Michael Meindl, Helmut Dietmaier and Harald Dostal/www.sport-bilder.at