Starting position
VSV have not made it easy for the Red Bulls this season. Only after two initial defeats were the Salzburgers able to record their first win of the season on January 17 in Villach. This game was more or less the beginning of a series in which the Red Bulls regularly had to do without many injured regular players.
The absences were compensated for by a number of courageous young academy players, coupled with a cohesive team performance. This resulted in four wins from the last five games and 3rd place in the table, level on points with fourth-placed Bolzano.
The team will once again have to work together and work for each other against Villach, as the blue-and-whites have some serious forward qualities and are fighting for a place among the top six teams, which means a play-off spot. Villach, currently in seventh place, can also build on a run of three recent victories and also have the second-highest scorer in the entire league in Maximilian Rebernig.
Villach's strong offense
Despite their 7th place in the table, VSV have the second strongest offense in the league with 152 goals scored, second only to the KAC (161 goals). The Red Bulls have scored 145 goals so far and are the third strongest team. Maxi Rebernig, Kevin Hancock and Chase Pearson, who have scored more than a third of all Villach goals with 22, 19 and 17 goals respectively, are the main scorers for VSV.
The Red Bulls are led by Peter Schneider - who returns to the lineup tomorrow against Villach - with 17 goals, followed by Benjamin Nissner with 15. Troy Bourke, Mario Huber and Lucas Thaler have all scored 12 goals.
The all-clear has been given for Ryan Murphy, who left the game early on Tuesday in Innsbruck after a body check with an upper body injury. However, his participation tomorrow is questionable.