Ahead of Sunday’s latest meeting, however, the balance of power appears to have shifted dramatically. Rapid travel to Favoriten with a 20-point advantage in the table and are determined to bring Austria’s unbeaten derby run to an end.
Four derbies, just one point for Rapid
Rapid’s derby record in the 2025/26 season makes for grim reading. Their first encounter ended in a 3-1 home defeat in September 2025. Austria followed that up with a 2-0 victory on their own ground in February, before the sides drew 1-1 in Favoriten in April. That result on April 12 was Rapid’s only point from four meetings with their city rivals. In the final derby of the season, Austria claimed another 2-0 victory, this time away in Hütteldorf in May.
It represented a reversal of the balance of power seen in previous years, when Rapid had frequently held the upper hand. For Austria, the run was a triumph both on the pitch and emotionally. For Rapid supporters, it was a particularly painful record in yet another deeply frustrating season. The fact that the Austrian record champions have undergone such a remarkable transformation this term has only heightened expectations among the green-and-white faithful ahead of the first derby of 2026/27.
Twenty points apart and heading in opposite directions
After ten league matches, Rapid sit top of the Bundesliga with 27 points. Austria have collected just seven and find themselves towards the bottom of the table. Nine victories in ten matches on one side, seven defeats on the other: rarely in recent years have the two clubs approached a Vienna derby with such contrasting fortunes.
Rapid are not merely winning matches; they are also playing impressive football. Johannes Hoff Thorup’s intensive possession-based approach is now working consistently over longer periods, with his players pressing aggressively after losing the ball and frequently regaining possession high up the pitch through their relentless counterpressing.
Opponents are given little time to settle. Even after winning a challenge, they often find another Rapid player closing them down immediately – and usually with support close behind.
Austria, meanwhile, are searching for stability and a new playing identity. Following Stephan Helm’s departure, Maximilian Uhlig took charge and offered at least a glimpse of a possible new direction in his debut against Hartberg in the Austrian Cup.
The Violets started boldly, played with greater attacking intent and took the lead through Johannes Eggestein. Particularly during the opening half-hour, there were clear indications that Uhlig wants to introduce a significant change in the team’s approach.
Has the derby come too soon for Uhlig?
Those encouraging signs were not enough to secure progression in the cup. After a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, Austria were eliminated on penalties. Their intensity and control diminished considerably after the opening stages.
That could prove especially damaging against Rapid. Teams unable to play their way out of tight spaces against Thorup’s aggressive counterpressing – and sustain that ability for the full 90 minutes – risk finding themselves under almost constant pressure.
The timing of the derby may therefore be particularly unfortunate for Uhlig. He has had only a handful of training sessions to introduce new patterns of play. With players such as Vorsager and Toifl, he is effectively having to integrate fresh faces into the first team as well.
Thorup, by contrast, has a settled squad whose tactical identity is now clearly established.
Yet the Rapid manager also has something to prove. The Dane has failed to win any of his first three Vienna derbies and will be determined to break that sequence at the fourth attempt. Several players who joined Rapid for their first season in 2025/26 have also experienced nothing but derby disappointment.
There is little doubt about who enters Sunday’s encounter as the favourite. But derbies are not decided by league positions or recent form alone.
Austria demonstrated last season, with squads that were broadly comparable to those involved now, that they are capable of beating Rapid. Their challenge is to prove they can still compete against a much stronger green-and-white side.
For Rapid, meanwhile, Sunday’s match is about more than another three points. It is an opportunity to end a deeply frustrating sequence that, given their current dominance, appears increasingly overdue – and one they have every reason to believe they can finally break.
