Nations League | Playoffs A/B | 1st Leg

Mar 20, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

Ernst-Happel-Stadion

Austria vs Serbia

Match preview

Austria were unbeaten at home in the group stage, recording comfortable wins over Norway and Kazakhstan and a draw with Slovenia.

Their only defeat in the group stage came away to Norway, but it proved costly as the Norwegians finished two points above them and secured automatic promotion to League A.

They will be hoping to carry their good form from the league phase into the clash with Serbia, particularly their impressive goalscoring record at home.

In their three home matches, Austria have outscored their opponents by 10 goals to two, the highlight being a 5-1 win over eventual group winners Norway.

Their good form in the Nations League followed a decent showing at Euro 2024, where Austria surprised the world by topping a group that included heavyweights France, Poland and the Netherlands.

Unfortunately for the Austrians, the fun ended there as Turkey knocked them out in the last 16, but they have bounced back well with good results in the Nations League and now have a chance to reach League A for the second time in their history.

The visitors, on the other hand, endured a torrid time in Group A4, winning just once in their six matches after being paired with Spain, Switzerland and Denmark.

Despite their struggles in the group, they finished four points clear of Switzerland to avoid automatic relegation and just two points behind Denmark in second, while Spain finished top of the group with 16 points from six games.

Their 2-0 win over Switzerland in October is their only win in their last nine matches, having gone winless at Euro 2024.

Even more worrying for the Serbs ahead of this game is their poor away record, with just two wins from their last nine away games - excluding Euro 2024, which is considered a neutral ground.

Despite an underwhelming European Championship campaign last summer and struggles in the Nations League in the months since, Dragan Stojkovic remains in charge of Serbia.

However, his future has been the subject of speculation in the wake of their recent poor form, and although he only extended his contract last year, relegation back to League B could well lead to a change of management.

Austria and Serbia last met in June last year, when they played a friendly in preparation for the European Championship.

Ralf Rangnick's side won 2-1, with goals from Patrick Wimmer and Christoph Baumgartner giving Austria a comfortable lead before Strahinja Pavlovic pulled one back for the visitors.

The team also won the last competitive meeting between the nations, winning 3-2 in a World Cup qualifier in Vienna in October 2017, so they can take confidence from their previous encounters with Serbia into this game.

Although Serbia are in the top flight of the Nations League, Austria are 10 places above them in the FIFA world rankings, with Rangick's men currently 22nd and the visitors 32nd.

Both sides will therefore have a point to prove in this encounter, with the hosts looking to put themselves in a good position ahead of a tough away trip to Belgrade at the weekend.

Recent Performance

Austria Nations League form:DLWWWD

Serbia Nations League form:DLWLDD

Team News

In good news for the hosts, both David Alaba and Xaver Schlager are back in contention after recent injuries.

However, Leeds United defender Maximilian Wober has been ruled out with a recurring knee injury, while Stefan Posch and Kevin Danso are both nursing thigh injuries.

Meanwhile, Raul Florucz could make his debut for Austria after being called up ahead of the game, while Konrad Laimer is suspended for the game.

The visitors will be without star man Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has suffered a number of health problems in recent months, while Ivan Ilic (illness) is also out and Nemanja Gudelj remains a doubt for the visitors.

Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenkovic and AC Milan defender Pavlovic are both suspended for the game, as are Andrija Zivkovic and Aleksa Terzic.

Elsewhere, Zenit Saint Petersburg's Ognjen Mimovic and FK Cukaricki striker Mihajlo Cvetkovic could make their debuts.

Possible starting lineup

Austria possible starting lineup:

Pentz; Prass, Alaba, Lienhart, Mwene; Seiwald, Wimmer, Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic

Serbia possible starting lineup:

Rajkovic; Babic, Veljkovic, Erakovic; Birmancevic, Maksimovic, Lukic, Topic, Samardzic; Vlahovic, Jovic