St. Pölten and Sturm Graz start bravely in the Europa Cup qualifiers

In ORF‑Sport‑Live, the first leg of the Europa Cup will be broadcast on Wednesday at 18:45: SKN St. Pölten host the Swedish side Malmö, while Sturm Graz play at 19:00 against the German top club Wolfsburg.

St. Pölten does not want to hide its European appearance

Coach Laurent Fassotte emphasizes that the Austrian women, after four previous encounters with Swedish teams, of which only one was a draw, are aiming for a clear victory. “It won’t be easy, but we have shown that we can compete on the European stage, and we go into the match against Malmö with optimism,” he said.

The seeding list shows that only VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt have a higher coefficient – an indication that St. Pölten does not have to stay in the background.

Sturm Graz looks back on a strong performance in the domestic league: The Bundesliga leader is currently third, while the Austrian women have recorded nine wins and one draw in ten season games.

Sporting director Michael Erlitz explains that Wolfsburg is a big name, but exactly such matches spark interest in the Europa Cup. “We do not want to hide, but to appear boldly, show our qualities and work out a good starting position for the second leg,” he added.