Austria Vs. Slovenia: A Battle Of Promotion Determination In The UEFA Nations League
Jakarta Austria will host Slovenia in the final match of Group B3 UEFA Nations League on Sunday night 17 November in Vienna. This match is the determinant of the fate of both teams, where Austria leads the standings and only needs to match the results obtained by Norway to ensure promotion to Liga A. In contrast, Slovenia must win to avoid the relegation zone.
Austria is currently at the top of Group B3 standings, ahead of Norway thanks to a 5-1 win in the previous meeting. Ralf Rangnick's side only need to get the same results as Norway in the last game to get automatic promotions to League A. However, defeat to Slovenia will see Austria drop to third place and have to go through a playoffs to avoid relegation to League C.
Austria started this match with high confidence after winning 2-0 over Kazakhstan last Thursday. Goals from Christoph Baumgartner and Michael Gregoritsch in the first half sealed a win at the freezing temperature of Almaty. This victory is the third consecutive in the Nations League, with a total of 11 goals they managed to score.
Despite a 1-1 draw with Slovenia in the first meeting, Austria had a positive record with three wins from their last four meetings against Matjaz Kek's side.
For Slovenia, victory is the only way to avoid the relegation playoffs. The 4-1 defeat to Norway last Thursday closed their chances of finishing over Norway, but victory in Vienna would take them to second place and an opportunity for promotion through the playoffs.
However, Slovenia had to face tough challenges as they were only able to win against Kazakhstan in this group. In the last eight matches against other countries, Slovenia has not been able to record a win.
Austria appeared with a squad that most of them did not change. Kevin Danso re-strengthen the defense after recovering from heart problems, but David Alaba is still long absent. Marcel Sabitzer and Marko Arnautovic have the chance to appear, although Baumgartner and Gregoritsch who scored in the last match have the potential to be maintained in the core line-up.
In the Slovenian side, the only player absent from injury was Tomi Horvat, while Andraz Sporar was not on the list in the last game. Benjamin Sesko, who scored the 16th goal for the national team, will be the mainstay in attack.
Austria: Pentz Lineup Forecast; Danso, Posch, Lienhart, Mwene; Laimer, Seiwald; Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic.Slovenia: Oblak; Karnicik, Drkusic, Bijol, Janza; Stojanovic, Gnezda Cerin, Elsnik, Lovric; Vipotnik, Sesko