Can Wiener SC upset Linzer ASK?

On Saturday, July 26, 2025, the Austrian Cup will see a clash between Wiener Sportclub and Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub – LASK for short. The roles are quite clear ahead of this encounter, as the home side have been playing in the Regionalliga Ost since 2002, while the visitors have been continuously represented in the Bundesliga since 2018. There is therefore a considerable difference in quality between the two sides. This will also be the reason why the odds for Wiener Sportclub vs. Lask offered by German bookmakers clearly favor a victory for the away team. The highest odds for an away win are only 1.08 and can be found at bookie giant Bet365.

However, crazy things always happen in the cup, which is why we don’t want to focus solely on the obvious. In terms of titles, for example, WSC has the edge, having won the Austrian championship three times in addition to the ÖFB Cup. LASK has only won two major trophies in its history. The underdog therefore has more silverware in its trophy cabinet than the favorite. However, these titles were won several decades or even over a century ago and are therefore irrelevant for our Wiener Sportclub vs. Lask prediction. Nevertheless, we should not make the home team out to be smaller than they actually are.

Wiener Sportclub – Statistics & current form

As already mentioned, Wiener SC has been playing in the Regionalliga Ost since 2003 and has been waiting to return to the second Austrian division ever since. However, Robert Weinstabl’s team was not close to achieving this in the past season, as WSC finished 15 points behind Donaufeld with only 48 points from 30 games. However, things could have been much worse, as until a few years ago the club was regularly fighting against relegation. Nevertheless, we would argue that the home side are not among the top teams in Austria’s third highest league and therefore have no realistic chance against Linzer ASK in the cup. 

Wiener Sportclub can cause an upset

With 54 goals in 30 league games (⌀ 1.80), the hosts had one of the best attacks in the Regionalliga Ost last season. Nevertheless, there were five teams that found the back of the net more often: Donaufeld, Young Violets Austria Wien, Neusiedl, Krems, and FCM Traiskirchen. On the other hand, Robert Weinstabl’s team only failed to score four times, finding the net in almost 87% of their games. At home, the record was even better, with a 100% scoring rate. Apart from Miroslav Beljan, who scored eight goals last season, WSC kept its key players together.

Wiener Sportclub with slight defensive problems

Robert Weinstabl’s team can hardly be faulted in attack, which naturally raises the question of why the club failed to play a role in the promotion race. The answer is obvious: with 43 goals conceded in 30 games (⌀ 1.43), WSC couldn’t even come close to keeping up with teams like Donaufeld, FC Marchfeld Donauauen, Oberwart, or Young Violets Austria Wien. In addition, the home side conceded at least one goal in 73.33% of their league games, keeping a clean sheet only eight times. Ahead of the match against Linzer ASK, these are obviously not good omens, and a “clean sheet” is therefore out of the question.

Predicted line-up:
Hotop – Radulovic, Gusic, Puchegger, Vehabovic – Keles, Akrap, Tütünci, Wunsch – Kerber, Röhricht

LASK – Statistics & current form

LASK will not have been entirely satisfied with the past season, as the team finished the 2024/25 season in seventh place with only 38 points from 32 games. Compared to the previous two years, in which they finished third, this was a disappointment. On top of that, the visitors also squandered their chance to participate in international competitions, losing 3-4 to Rapid Vienna in the playoffs. Missing out on the Conference League was particularly bitter, as Linz had led 3-1 after the first leg. This has naturally cost the club a lot of money, which would certainly have been welcome.

Lask poses a real goal threat

With 51 goals in 32 league games (⌀ 1.59), the visitors had one of the best attacks in the Austrian top flight last season. In fact, only three teams scored more often: Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg, and WAC. Nevertheless, the team under new coach Joao Sacramento failed to score eight times and thus found the back of the net “only” 73.33% of the time. Away from home, however, the rate was significantly better at 87.50%. However, the visitors lost their top scorer Robert Zulj in the summer. In addition, the club lost 16 other players and has only signed three new players so far. In our opinion, this is quite risky and a bad sign for the coming season.  

Lask is very compact in defense

Offensively, however, the visitors should have no problems creating chances, especially against a third-division side. Defensively, the picture is quite similar, as Linz had the second-best defense in the Bundesliga last season, conceding only 36 goals in 32 league games (⌀ 1.13). Nevertheless, Joao Sacramento’s team kept a clean sheet “only” nine times, conceding at least one goal in almost 72% of their games. The visitors conceded a goal relatively regularly, but usually only one. We therefore expect a “clean sheet” for the upcoming game against WSC.

Predicted line-up:
Schillinger – Lebersorger, Boateng, Cisse, Flecker – Haider, Sanogo, Augustus, Pintor, Usor – Kane

Wiener Sportclub – LASK Head-to-head record / H2H record

In the first two paragraphs of our analysis, Linz clearly has the upper hand. However, the H2H comparison paints a slightly different picture, with 37 of the 83 matches going to the home team. By comparison, the away team has won “only” 28 games, giving them a win rate of just 34%. However, the last meeting between the two teams was almost 33 years ago and is irrelevant for the distribution of the Wiener Sportclub vs. Lask betting odds. The direct comparison is therefore completely irrelevant for our analysis.

Wiener Sportclub – LASK Tip

Taking all of the above factors into account, we have decided to go for a win for the away team in both halves in our Wiener Sportclub vs. Lask tip. The visitors have a respectable away record, are well-balanced in both attack and defense, and naturally have significantly more individual quality at their disposal. In addition, WSC won only three of their 15 home games last season, and even those were against third-division teams. The Linz team is obviously in a completely different league, will dominate the game and therefore win comfortably.

Alternatively, we recommend the Wiener Sportclub vs. Lask odds for a win for the away team with a handicap of -2. The visitors are very compact and, in our opinion, will not concede any goals. In addition, Linz proved to be very dangerous in front of goal last season, scoring an average of 1.59 goals per game. Furthermore, WSC had major defensive problems in their preparations, conceding eight goals in games against FAC, Horn, WNSC, and ASV Siegendorf. Considering the quality of the opposing teams, that is definitely too many.