Austriavs.Slovenia

In one of the tightest sections across the entire competition, three teams can still trade positions on the final day, including these two.

Match preview

The permutations in Group B3 are possibly the most complicated of any on matchday six, with wildly different head-to-head records between Austria, Slovenia and Norway.

Austria sit top at present, and just need to match Norway's result to win the group and gain automatic promotion to League A, but if they lose here, they will fall to third and compete in a playoff to avoid relegation to League C.

The 5-1 win Ralf Rangnick's side enjoyed over Norway last month means they have the edge over Stale Solbakken's side on that head-to-head record, as both sit on 10 points at present.

However, after a 1-1 draw away in Ljubljana versus Slovenia on matchday one, a defeat here will see their visitors join them on 10 points, but also leapfrog them on the head-to-head record.

Therefore, the task is simple for Rangnick's men - win - and there will be no need to worry about the two sides below them.

Das Team enter the fixture on the back of a very comfortable 2-0 win on a daunting trip to Kazakhstan on Thursday, with Christoph Baumgartner and Michael Gregoritsch netting the first-half goals that saw them cruise to victory in below-freezing temperatures in Almaty.

Sheer dominance from start to finish could have seen Austria win by a bigger margin, especially considering their hosts were reduced to 10 men midway through the opening period, but they were unable to add to the scoreline after the interval.

That was their third win in succession in this group, scoring 11 goals in the process, and instant promotion back to League A could be the first sign that they are the real deal under Rangnick, after they failed to live up to their early promise at Euro 2024.

Despite drawing with Slovenia in the reverse outing, Austria should feel confident ahead of this one, because they have won the three other previous meetings between the nations, with the most recent being 1-0 home and away wins in Euro 2020 qualifying.

While Austria's aim is simple, so is Slovenia's, they must win or they will be condemned to the relegation playoffs.

Suffering a 4-1 thrashing at home to Norway on Thursday means that they can longer finish above them in any circumstances, but a win here will move them into second, and give them an opportunity to reach League A via the playoffs.

That task appears difficult though when it is taken into consideration that their only wins in the section so far have come against whipping boys Kazakhstan.

Their last competitive win before this Nations League campaign also came against the Kazakhs in Euro 2024 qualifying, meaning Matjaz Kek's men are winless in their last eight matches against other nations.

Unless Kek's men can find a heroic performance from somewhere, they appear destined for the relegation playoffs, just months after being a penalty shootout away from the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

Austria Nations League form:

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L

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Austria form (all competitions):

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Slovenia Nations League form:

D

W

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Slovenia form (all competitions):

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D

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L

Team News

Austria's squad remains largely unchanged from the one that has appeared throughout this Nations League campaign.

Kevin Danso returned to the fold and played in Kazakhstan after recovering from a heart issue detected earlier this season, but defensive partner David Alaba remains a long-term absentee.

Marcel Sabitzer and Marko Arnautovic could come into the side, but after Baumgartner and Gregoritsch both scored on Thursday, their places in the side are far from assured.

The only injury absentee for Slovenia is midfielder Tomi Horvat, but lingering issues have also disrupted Andraz Sporar's season at Panathinaikos so far, and he was left out on Thursday.

That will likely see one of Zan Vipotnik and Zan Celar chosen ahead of him to partner star man Benjamin Sesko in attack, and despite the poor result against Norway, the RB Leipzig man was on target again to score his 16th international goal.

Austria possible starting lineup:

Pentz; Danso, Posch, Lienhart, Mwene; Laimer, Seiwald; Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic

Slovenia possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Karnicik, Drkusic, Bijol, Janza; Stojanovic, Gnezda Cerin, Elsnik, Lovric; Vipotnik, Sesko

We say: Austria 2-0 Slovenia

Despite a slow start to the section, Austria are starting to show the form that made many sit up and take notice at times during Euro 2024, and they should end the night as Group B3 winners.

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