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Sports Mole previews Thursday's World Cup Qualifying - Europe clash between Austria and San Marino, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Austria can take control of Group H on Thursday when they face visitors San Marino at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in their World Cup 2026 qualifying clash.

The second-placed hosts are level on 12 points with first-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina but have four games left to play compared to their rivals' three, while the visitors are last in fifth place with no points and have already been eliminated.

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Match preview

Austria earned a vital three points when they faced Bosnia-Herzegovina on September 9, beating them 2-1 despite producing one big chance compared to their opponents' three.

Only first place will be enough to qualify for the World Cup automatically, while a second-placed finish would be enough for a playoff spot, and manager Ralf Rangnick should be confident of a top-two placement given his side are five points ahead of third-placed Romania.

Das Team have netted at least two goals in six of their past 10 internationals, and they have kept two clean sheets in their past three outings.

Austria will hope to earn a fifth consecutive victory on Thursday, and a win would extend their unbeaten streak at home to seven matches, after they won four of their last six at Ernst-Happel-Stadion.

While the hosts have qualified for the past two Euros, they have not reached the group stage of the World Cup since the 1998 edition of the competition.

San Marino faced Bosnia-Herzegovina on September 6, and though they lost 6-0, they were reduced to 10 men in the 16th minute and conceded five times in the closing 20 minutes.

The visitors have played 81 World Cup qualifiers, but they have only avoided defeat twice in those fixtures.

La Serenissima were beaten 4-0 when they played their hosts in June, with the nation suffering 7-0 and 4-1 defeats in their prior two meetings in the late 1990s.

A loss against at Ernst-Happel-Stadion would be their eighth consecutive defeat in all competitions, and they will be wary of the threat posed by Austria considering they have conceded 17 goals in the four matches leading up to Thursday's clash.

Roberto Cevoli's team have lost each of their four most recent games on their travels, and they were defeated in 10 of their previous 11 away outings.

Austria World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

Austria form (all competitions):

San Marino World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

San Marino form (all competitions):

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Team News

Austria's Patrick Wimmer was sent off last time out and will miss Thursday's game, though given the right-winger only came on as a substitute, the hosts will be able to select first-choice Romano Schmid.

Defensive stalwarts Konrad Laimer and David Alaba are certain to be selected, while Philipp Lienhart and Philipp Mwene could fill out the rest of the back four.

Nicolas Seiwald and Florian Grillitsch are likely to start in midfield behind attackers Christoph Baumgartner and Michael Gregoritsch.

Meanwhile, San Marino shot-stopper Edoardo Colombo may be protected by centre-backs Michele Cevoli and Giacomo Valentini.

Number eights Alessandro Golinucci and Samuele Zannoni could be asked to support forwards Andrea Contadini, Nicola Nanni and Filippo Berardi.

Austria possible starting lineup:

Schlager; Laimer, Lienhart, Alaba, Mwene; Schmid, Seiwald, Grillitsch, Sabitzer; Baumgartner, Gregoritsch

San Marino possible starting lineup:

Colombo; Fabbri, Cevoli, Valentini, Riccardi; Golinucci, Capicchioni, Zannoni; Contadini, Nanni, Berardi

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We say: Austria 4-0 San Marino

 

Austria should be seen as clear favourites to claim all three points, especially as San Marino have rarely ever avoided defeat.

It would be surprising if the hosts failed to win by multiple goals, and if they play anywhere close to their best, then they will comfortably emerge as victors.

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

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