Starting position
Yesterday's defeat against VSV was all the more painful as the Red Bulls had stabilized in the last few rounds and were able to achieve good results. Against a combative Villach team, the Salzburgers rarely found their usual rhythm of play, in which chances are created in offense from a secure defense. It is precisely these virtues that the Red Bulls want and need to show again on Sunday against Bolzano in order to defend their fourth place in the table (with still two or three games less than the other teams); Graz is only two points behind them in the chasing pack.
HCB Südtirol are holding on to second place in the table and underlined their ambitions once again yesterday with a clear 4:1 home win against the Vienna Capitals. The Red Bulls are preparing themselves for another tough game and will be particularly prepared for the tough style of play of the South Tyroleans, who mostly look for success through physical play paired with technically very good individual skills.
Balanced duel
Since the South Tyroleans have been in the league, the games with the Red Bulls have developed into a generally evenly matched, long-running duel. In 85 games, the Red Bulls have won 45 times and the Bolzano team 40 times. The distribution of goalscorers is also similar for both teams. There are hardly any outliers at the top, but there are several players who can score at any time.
In Salzburg, Peter Schneider stands out somewhat with 18 goals. He is followed by Benjamin Nissner with 16 goals and Troy Bourke, Mario Huber and Lucas Thaler (currently ill) with 12 goals each. The density is even greater in Bolzano. The top five scorers with Anthony Salinitri, Matt Bradley, Adam Helewka, Luca Frigo and Christiano Digiacinto have 15, twice 14, 13 and 11 goals respectively.