Austrian Bundesliga: GAK hosts Austria Lustenau and Hartberg faces Sturm Graz on a key matchday

Lineups and absentees for the debut

Austria Lustenau, for its part, also begins its journey in the current campaign. Jürgen Heil's team will start with Schierl between the posts and a backline formed by Gmeiner, Maak, Pertlwieser and Soares. The midfield will be occupied by Afrifa, Delaye and Kacuri, leaving Weixelbraun, Benjamin and Diarra up front as the main attacking references. The Vorarlberg club will try to earn its first points on what is always a demanding away trip to GAK's ground.

GAK's squad list includes two sensitive absences. Trummer will be unable to participate due to a thigh injury, while Italiano will miss the match because of adductor problems. Both absences force the coaching staff to reshuffle the starting eleven on a matchday in which the Graz-based club seeks to kick off the season on the right foot in front of its fans.

The matchday is completed with the marquee evening clash at the Profertil Arena, where TSV Hartberg hosts Sturm Graz from 19:30 under the refereeing of Weinberger. It is a meeting between sides with very different recent trajectories, as the home side arrives after a run of adverse results in the 2025/26 season, with 0:1 defeats away and at home, a goalless draw on the road and a 2:4 defeat also at its stadium, according to data from the current season.

Hartberg seeks to break its poor run against Sturm Graz

Hartberg, which has Pecsi in goal and Wilfinger and Komposch K. as defensive mainstays, will try to break that negative run against one of the historically strongest teams in Austrian football. The Oststeiermark side will look to take advantage of home advantage to spring a surprise against an opponent that, according to available figures, has managed to pick up points with greater regularity throughout the campaign.

Sturm Graz, champions of the Meister LASK, is one of the heavy favorites for the title and faces the match as the visiting side. The squad led by the coaching staff, with the presence of KMM in the sporting planning, arrives at the Profertil Arena aiming to confirm its strength at one of the most demanding fixtures on the calendar. Tobias Koch and other members of the squad are called upon to play a prominent role in a clash that looks uneven on paper due to the difference in accumulated results between the two teams this season.

Both matches of the round are played as part of the top tier of Austrian football and are included in the live offering of Sky Sport Austria, which broadcasts the entire Saturday card. The combination of a league debut for GAK and Austria Lustenau and the contrast in trajectories between Hartberg and Sturm Graz shapes a matchday that pits four clubs with very different objectives in the standings.

Television coverage and keys to the matchday

Beyond the immediate result, Saturday's matches offer the first competitive benchmark for some of the sides involved and make it possible to gauge the form of squads that have worked throughout pre-season. For GAK, it is also the chance to start its path in a campaign in which it aims to consolidate its presence in the Bundesliga, while for Lustenau it represents a demanding examination away from home. At the Profertil Arena, Hartberg will look to earn its first points of the season against a favorite opponent, on a night that could set the tone for the rest of the campaign for both sides.

The progress of both encounters can be followed live via Sky Sport Austria's broadcasts, which offers full coverage of Saturday's Bundesliga matchday. The afternoon schedule, with kickoff scheduled for 17:00 at the Stadion Liebenau, and the evening duel at 19:30 at the Profertil Arena, make up a double matchday with appeal both for GAK and Lustenau supporters and for fans of Hartberg, Sturm Graz and the teams linked to the Meister LASK and Oststeiermark environment.