Sunday will be marked by two derbies: Damir Krznar returns to Ljudski vrt, Olympija – Mura will be festive in Stožice

On Friday, the two competed
Aluminij and Bravo
(1:1), and on Saturday
Radomlje and Rogaška
(1:3) and
Koper and Domžale
(The 16th round of the national championship will conclude on Sunday with two attractive matches. Two derbies. The match will kick off at 15:00 and will be played at Ljudski vrt between Styrian rivals Maribor and Celje. hours. Two and a half hours later, the Olimpija – Mura match will start, with
Green Dragons
will conclude the celebration of their 35th birthday. Sunday, derby day. And two of them!

“We are definitely going into the game with determination. We have enough quality and home support. Victory is our goal. A zero at the back would give us an extra boost to be even more confident. We have to work for each other and then the results will come,” says Olimpija defender Marcel Ratnik ahead of the Prekmurje game.

The young Slovenian national player added: “We are progressing from one game to the next. We are more disciplined in the game. Under the new coach, we have only let up once and we want to continue in this rhythm. Zero at the back boosts the confidence of the whole team. For defence, this is very important. On Thursday, we locked the doors for the fourth time in a row. On the other hand, we created enough chances, we were patient and that rewarded us in the end.”

Mura is playing better away than at home this season, which is one of the reasons why the club from Murska Sobota is in an optimistic mood. “Olimpija is in a good moment, they have two wins, the change of coach has been felt. Even without this victory, I knew it would not be easy for us. However, we will look for our opportunities and try to take them. For us, it’s a derby, because every game is the most important for us. I am happy with the way our team behaves in training and in matches, with the atmosphere in the team. We look at ourselves, we solve our problems, and we respect everyone who stands in front of us,” said Mura coach Vladimir Vermezović before the visit to Stožice .

Before the match at Stožice, Ljudski vrt will be revived, where Maribor will try to inflict a second consecutive defeat on Celje. The match will be something special for the visiting coach, Damir Krznar was the coach of Maribor not long ago, now he comes as the coach of Celje.

“As we know each other well, the match will undoubtedly be even more interesting. But I don’t think this knowledge counts or. will not be decisive. It is going to be a big fight, and we may even have the advantage. There have been changes in Celje too, but some things have remained similar to the previous coach. I watched the game against Olimpija and they were a bit unlucky not to take their chances. We need to stop them from coming up to opportunities. We are aware that Celje players are technically very strong. They are able to come at us from different sides, they are able to come up with promising situations through plays and passes. If we stand close by and consistently do the defensive part of the job, we will ease our way to success,” says Maribor midfielder Jan Repas ahead of the Styrian showdown.

Celj’s thoughts were summarised by national team defender David Zec before the derby: “We prepared for this game like any other. We were disappointed to lose against Olimpija, because we didn’t play badly. In the second half we created a few chances and we go to the derby with this in mind. The reason for the change of coach was different for them than for us, but it is noticeable that they have a new energy and that the players are performing better on the pitch. I am sure they will be even more motivated for this match.”

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