Sturm Graz vs Red Bull Salzburg Prediction: Top table battle continues

Sturm Graz and Red Bull Salzburg, now ranked top and second, respectively, in the Australian Bundesliga, will square off against one another at the Merkur Arena in what is certain to be the most exciting matchup of the week. Both teams came into this match on a four-game win streak from their most recent matchups heading into it. Will one of these teams come out on top and maintain their perfect record of victories, or will they both be content to play to a draw and share the spoils?

Following a 1-2 victory over Altach in the Bundesliga, Sturm Graz will be looking for more of the same following their most recent performance, which has given them confidence. During that match, Sturm Graz had 54% of the ball and 6 shots on goal, with 3 of those shots finding their mark. Otar Kiteishvili and Mohammed Fuseini were the ones to score for Sturm Graz. Kiteishvili's goal came in the 62nd minute, and Fuseini's came in the 91st. In total, Altach had 16 shots on goal, but only four of them were successful. In the 78th minute, Paul-Friedrich Koller scored a goal for Altach. Christian Ilzer's team, Sturm Graz, has scored a total of nine goals over the course of their most recent six games, or an average of 1.5 goals per game. Taking a look at the stats, Sturm Graz have not been victorious against Red Bull Salzburg in any of their previous three league matches. In addition, the host club has not been defeated in any of their previous six league matches played at home.

Red Bull Salzburg enters this encounter on the heels of a 2-0 victory in their most recent Bundesliga match, which they played against Rapid Vienna. During that particular encounter, Red Bull Salzburg had 54% of the ball and 17 shots on goal, with only 4 of the shots hitting the target. Roko Simic was the only player for Red Bull Salzburg to score twice, in the 13th and 35th minutes. Eleven shots on goal were taken by Rapid Wien, but only four were on target. The Red Bull Salzburg defense squad has put together a string of consistent performances, which has led to their 'goals against' tally sitting at only 2 after combining the results of their previous 6 matches. During the same time period, their strikers have accounted for 16 of their team's total goals. Red Bull Salzburg enters this match having not tasted defeat in any of their previous 18 matches played away from home in the league.

In the past 76 seasons, Sturm Graz and Red Bull Salzburg have competed against one another 76 times, with Sturm Graz claiming victory in 15 of those games and Red Bull Salzburg claiming victory in 44 of those games. There were 17 games that ended in ties. In the head-to-head matchups, Sturm Graz was able to score 72 goals, while Red Bull Salzburg scored 142 goals.

It is really extremely difficult to choose a victor from these two outstanding teams, each of whom possesses everything necessary to come out on top in this competition. When looking at their prior matches against one another as a guide, the away team, Red Bull Salzburg, has usually come out on top, but I do not get the impression that the home squad is in poor shape heading into this encounter. Even though the result of this match is anyone's guess, I believe that the team playing at home still has a shot at winning on their own field. As a result, given that both teams are anticipated to display a significant amount of attacking play, the best options here are to place a wager on the home team, draw no bet, and goals.