Under the lights at Liebenau, Rennes will step into a compact Graz stadium on Wednesday night with Sturm Graz rebuilding around a young coach and two recently recovered attacking talents. The Europa League tie kicks off at 21:00 in a city where the name of Ivica Osim still carries particular weight.
SEO title: Rennes face rebuilt Sturm Graz side in Europa League
SEO description: Rennes travel to Sturm Graz in the Europa League, where 34-year-old coach Fabio Ingolitsch has a reshaped squad, Oumar Diakité on loan and key attackers returning from injury.
Rennes face a changed Sturm Graz
Sturm Graz welcome Rennes at the Liebenau stadium, situated on Ivica-Osim-Platz. The square honours the former Yugoslav international and coach, who led Sturm between 1994 and 2002 and died in Graz in 2022.
The ground has a listed capacity of 15,400, although slightly more than 12,000 tickets had been sold by Tuesday evening for the European fixture.
Rennes are not facing the same Graz team that met French opposition in the Champions League league phase in autumn 2024. Sturm lost 2-1 at Brest before falling 3-2 at Lille, and only a limited number of players from that squad remain. There has also been a change in the dugout.
The move
Fabio Ingolitsch, only 34, is now in charge of Sturm Graz. He has described his side as the outsiders against a Rennes team he considers rich in individual quality.
“We are outsiders, but it is always a pleasure to play a very good team with many individual talents,” Ingolitsch said.
His own attacking options are not yet at full strength. Right-sided midfielder Filip Rozga and, more significantly, playmaker Otar Kiteishvili have only recently returned from injury.
Sturm’s summer ambition had been to return to the Champions League, but Fenerbahçe ended that route in the third qualifying round, winning 2-0 and 1-0 across the two legs. The Europa League is now the stage for Ingolitsch’s reshaped group.
The French season around it
There is a Ligue 1 connection in Graz through Oumar Diakité. The forward is on loan from Reims, now in Ligue 2, and scored in Sturm’s 2-1 victory over Linz on Sunday.
That result came against the Austrian league leaders, who are also the reigning champions and involved in the Champions League. It offered a timely lift after Sturm had opened their domestic campaign with two wins, two draws and one defeat.
- Oumar Diakité — on loan at Sturm Graz from Reims
- Filip Rozga — Sturm Graz right midfielder returning from injury
- Otar Kiteishvili — Sturm Graz playmaker recently back from injury
- Fabio Ingolitsch — Sturm Graz head coach, aged 34
For Rennes, the trip brings a return to a club with recent memories of French defeats but a markedly altered cast. For Graz, it is an opportunity to test a younger project against a Ligue 1 opponent after their Champions League hopes were cut short.
