Austria confidence sky high

FK Austria Wien head to Spain for the second leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie with Real Zaragoza full of confidence following Sunday's derby victory against SK Rapid Wien.

Unbeaten streak
Sigurd Rushfeldt's solitary goal ensured Austria extended their unbeaten run in the capital derby to 15 matches. Besides the absence of Czech midfield player Štepán Vachoušek, whose suspension will rule him out of Thursday's game, Austria will also be without Vladimír Janocko as his knee ligament injury has not healed in time.

Brimming with confidence
Nevertheless, victory at the weekend has left the team buoyant. "The derby win has given us lots of power and self-confidence," midfield player Markus Kiesenebner said. "Unfortunately we missed a number of opportunities to seal a bigger win but maybe we're saving these goals for Zaragoza."

Close encounter
Kiesenebner's coach Lars Söndergaard is less confident, however, and expects the match to be a close encounter. "The longer we can hold them to 0-0, the more Zaragoza could get nervous. They know we are always good for at least one goal and, in truth, I wouldn't mind if we score this goal in the last minute."

Zapater included
Gabriel Milito's 33rd-minute goal against fellow UEFA Cup contenders Sevilla FC helped Zaragoza warm up in style. The Spanish side, who drew 1-1 in Vienna last week, remain eleventh in the Primera División table despite Sunday's victory against the Andalusians. Alberto Zapater, back from domestic suspension, retained his place in the starting lineup but centre-half César Jiménez is still out with damaged knee ligaments.

'We need passion'
Midfield player David Generelo is expecting a full house at La Romareda to create the kind of atmosphere associated with European football nights. "I hope we can attract even more supporters to the stadium because this is the most important game of the year so far for us. We need the passion from the stands - with that, our job will be much easier."