LIVESTREAM Austria: Game of the Week – Graz Giants @ Vienna Vikings, May 4, 17:00 CET (5 pm, 11 am EDT)
Austria’s capital city welcomes a titanic battle between two undefeated squads in the Austrian Football League as the Graz Giants make their way to Vienna to take on the Vienna Vikings where someone’s 5-0 record will leave blemished whilst the other improves to an impressive 6-0.
Both teams feature highly when looking at the statistics for the AFL, with the Vikings having the number one passing offense in the league with 24 touchdowns and averaging 296.6 yards per game, with Vienna being so successful that both of their quarterbacks, Nico Hrouda and Michae Szabo, feature in the top ten of QBs in the AFL and their receivers also feature prominently the league’s top ten. Andre Fine Maximillion tops the AFL with nine touchdowns and a whopping 471 yards in five games, whilst Leonard Foidl takes 6th place with three touchdowns and 234 yards. Fabian Eder is seventh with two touchdowns and 225 yards.
Their rushing attack might not be considered the best in the league but there are still two Vikings who have put up top 10 numbers. Kevin Wojita takes the fourth spot rushing for four touchdowns and 233 yards so far, with his teammate Florian Wegan putting two touchdowns on the board and rushing for 196 yards, good for seventh among AFL running backs.
Watch live. Graz Giants @ Vienna Vikings, May 4, 17:00 CET (5 pm, 11 am EDT)
The defense for the Vikings is almost as impressive as their O, with the Vikings leading the AFL in rush defense only allowing 52.2 yards on average and only allowing one touchdown when their opponents take to the ground. Their passing defense on the other hand sits at fifth, having allowed six touchdowns and 120.4 yards a game on average.
The Graz Giants take the second place spot behind their opponents for this Saturday when it comes to throwing the ball, with 11 passing touchdowns so far and 184.4 yards per game on average from Nicolas Visser who has 826 yards so far this season. The Giants have the fourth and fifth ranked receivers in the league in Valentin Reissner and Christoph Pierer who have 248 and 241 receiving yards respectively and seven touchdowns between them. This trio can make an impact as they try to improve to 6-0.
The Giants rushing attack sits at fifth in the AFL league stats gaining six touchdowns on the ground and gaining 104.6 yards on average. Fritz Bleckmann leads the charge for the Giants as the fourth rated running back in the AFL having rushed for 251 yards and two scores. He could have a hard time getting through the AFL’s leading rushing defense.
The Giants boast the best passing defense in the AFL, giving up just 112 yards per game. They have snagged eight interceptions and recorded 12 sacks and they will be the biggest test of Vienna’s high flying offense. Where there may be issues for Graz is in their rushing defense as they allow the third most yards in the league per game at 144.6 and have let through four scores on the ground so far this season.
These two squads have battled 21 times since 2013 and the Vikings are far and away the leaders in this rivalry, winning 15 of 21 with their longest streak being six games from 2020 to 2021. Though what stands out for the Graz Giants is that they have won the last two meetings, 27-24 in 2022 and 35-28 last season in a game that went to overtime.
If the Giants passing defense can stand up to the Vienna air attack, then this game could be decided on the ground as the Graz rushing defense will have to lock in if they wish to make their win streak over Vienna go to 3-0 and keep their undefeated season going Meanwhile, the Vikings just need to overwhelm Graz if they want to go to 6-0.
Watch live. Graz Giants @ Vienna Vikings, May 4, 17:00 CET (5 pm, 11 am EDT)
