Locking horns in this battle of the Red Bulls are two fierce competitors who will be anything but neighbourly once the puck drops on Tuesday. German champions Red Bull Munich will face-off against last year’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga runners up Red Bull Salzburg in this historic fixture where neither side can continue to claim the title of underdog. More importantly however is the concluding chapter for one of these two teams who’re already competing at a higher altitude than they’ve previously ascended. 

The outcome of this game will inevitably be influenced by league form. Munich’s most recent result, a 3-1 victory over Straubing Tigers, maintains their role of putting any sort of pressure onto current league leaders Adler Mannheim, who were the last team to beat them in regulation. Since then they’ve been undefeated in 60 minutes for seven games in a row but still find themselves nine points short from reclaiming what they’ll feel is their top spot. They started off the new year positively with a victory over the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers, courtesy of two goals from forward Matt Stajan. This was dampened by a shootout loss only a few days later where Trevor Parkes, who scored a hattrick against the Malmö Redhawks, netted their only goal.

Salzburg Head Coach Greg Poss will have to get his side firing on all cylinders against Munich in the hope that a result can by a catalyst to better their recent league form. A 4-2 victory over HC Bolzano ended their three-game losing streak, leaving them tied on 60 points with the Italian side. The Austrians' last win before this fixture also came against the Foxes, however they endured a four-game losing streak prior to that game. They face league leaders, the Vienna Capitals, next knowing a loss could jeopardise their hopes of a top six finish with seventh-placed Fehérvár AV19 only being five points shy of them.