Preview: Austria vs Kosovo - prediction, team news, lineups

Both winners on the opening matchday, Austria and Kosovo will continue their UEFA Nations League campaigns on Sunday evening, when they convene in Vienna.

Playing the second of four fixtures during this international period, the pair sit top of League B Group 3, which also features Kosovo and the Republic of Ireland.

Match preview

During the last edition of the Nations League, only two teams scored more goals than Austria in League B, and Group 3's top seeds continued along that vein on Thursday night.

Having also scored freely en route to the World Cup - where they lost to eventual champions Spain in the last 32 - Ralf Rangnick's side used that firepower to defeat Israel at Raiffeisen Arena.

However, it took two late goals to see off 10-man opposition, with strikes from Phillipp Mwene and Sasa Kalajdzic finally securing a 3-1 success.

With his contract renewal already agreed before the World Cup, Rangnick has been tasked with gaining entry to the Nations League's top tier, then claiming a place at Euro 2028.

Despite finishing second in their group two years ago, his Austria squad were subsequently beaten by Serbia in the playoffs and missed out on promotion, so they will be keen to take first place this season.

Therefore, Das Team must target maximum points from another home game against lower-ranked opponents, as they meet Kosovo for the very first time.

While Austria were present at this year's global gathering in North America, Kosovo were still enduring the agony of their loss in the World Cup playoffs.

Yet to play at a major finals, one of UEFA's newest nations came within 90 minutes of qualifying but were beaten 1-0 by Turkey.

Still, the Balkan side had done well to finish second in Group B, before eliminating Slovakia in a seven-goal semi-final, all of which built on previous progress.

Franco Foda's team had made history by gaining Nations League promotion, finishing second in their League C group before winning both legs of a playoff against Iceland.

Entering Europe's second tier for the first time - on the back of four wins from their last seven competitive games - Kosovo again proved their worth by beating the Republic of Ireland in midweek.

Having spent most of the game attacking Ireland's area, they were finally rewarded in the 83rd minute, when captain and top scorer Vedat Muriqi made the late breakthrough.

Austria Nations League form:

Kosovo Nations League form:

Team News

With four games in the space of 10 days, Rangnick may be tempted to rotate his squad, having called up seven uncapped players for this international period.

Leading towards the next Euros, Austria are seeking fresh blood as their old guard fades: all-time top scorer Marko Arnautovic has retired from national-team duty, while Marcel Sabitzer is taking a break.

Furthermore, captain David Alaba was not selected as he was without a club until signing for Udinese, and Konrad Laimer has been sidelined by an adductor injury.

In the likely absence of Michael Gregoritsch, who led the line against Israel but came off with an ankle injury, either Kalajdzic, Christoph Lang or Junior Adamu will come into the lineup on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Muriqi is Kosovo's undisputed starter up front. Having hit four for Fenerbahce last week, Thursday's strike then took his tally of Nations League goal involvements to 19 - only Erling Haaland has more.

Like Austria, Foda's side are also missing their skipper, as Napoli defender Amir Rrahmanhi recently retired from international football due to a dispute with the federation; Muriqi took the armband against Ireland.

Teenage midfielder Erblin Osmani is the second-youngest player to feature for Bayern Munich in a Bundesliga fixture - aged just 16 years and 306 days - and he made his international debut with a late cameo in midweek.

Austria possible starting lineup:

A. Schlager; Posch, Lienhart, Danso, Mwene; Siewald, X. Schlager; Wimmer, Schmid, Wanner; Kalajdzic

Kosovo possible starting lineup:

Muric; Dellova, Hajdari, I. Krasniqi; Vojvoda, Hoxha, Avdullahu, Gallapeni; Zhegrova, E. Krasniqi; Muriqi

We say: Austria 2-1 Kosovo

The early signs suggest this pair could be vying for first place in Group 3 when it reaches its climax in November.

Managed by German coaches - albeit with very different styles - both pose a real threat in the final third, but Austria have a stronger midfield and more options on the bench.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.