Austria vs Slovenia Prediction: Who Will Emerge Victorious in the UEFA Nations League?

Slovenia will welcome Austria to Stozice Stadium on Friday evening, with the two teams locking horns in Group 3 of League B in the UEFA Nations League. Both sides reached the last-16 stage of Euro 2024, with Slovenia losing on penalties to Portugal in the first knockout round, while Austria suffered a 2-1 defeat to Turkey.

Slovenia's Euro 2024 campaign will undoubtedly go down as a huge success, having managed to reach the knockout round of the tournament in just their second-ever participation in the finals of a European Championship. The national team will now switch their attention to the Nations League, and they will once again be competing in League B of the competition, but this time in Group 3 alongside Austria, Kazakhstan and Norway. In 2022-23, Slovenia finished third in Group 4, picking up six points from their six matches, having gained promotion to League B due to finishing top of Group 3 of League C in 2020-21. Matjaz Kek's side will tackle Austria and Norway during this international break, before taking on both Norway and Kazakhstan in October, and it will be interesting to see how the section unfolds.

Slovenia have only ever faced Austria on four previous occasions, and they have just one victory to their name, which proved to be a 2-0 success in their first meeting in a friendly back in March 1997. Austria, as mentioned, also progressed to the last-16 stage of Euro 2024, and they were tipped as potential outsiders for the trophy due to their strong performance in the group stage of the competition. However, Ralf Rangnick's side came up just short, losing 2-1 to Turkey in the first knockout round, and their attention is now on the Nations League, with games to come against Slovenia and Norway during this international break. Austria were relegated from League A in 2022-23 after finishing bottom of Group 1, picking up just four points from their six matches against Croatia, Denmark and France. Das Team are on a three-game winning run against Slovenia, including a 1-0 success when the two teams last locked horns in a Euro 2020 qualification fixture in October 2019. However, Austria have lost each of their last three matches in the Nations League, while they have not been victorious in the competition since a 3-0 success over Croatia in June 2022.

Slovenia's side is expected to be similar to the one that started against Portugal in the last-16 stage of Euro 2024, with Benjamin Sesko in line to feature in the final third of the field. Sesko struggled to make his mark at the recent European Championship, but the 21-year-old has 11 goals in 33 games for his country, while he has started the 2024-25 campaign with one goal and two assists in three games for RB Leipzig. Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak will be another notable inclusion in the starting side, but 29-year-old defender Zan Karnicnik has not been selected in the current squad due to injury. As for Austria, there should once again be a spot in the final third of the field for Marko Arnautovic, while Marcel Sabitzer and Konrad Laimer are also set to start for the visitors on Friday. Michael Gregoritsch will be in Rangnick's thinking when it comes to a potential starting role, but he might have to accept a spot on the bench, with Christopher Baumgartner and Romano Schmid set to keep their spots. Kevin Danso is likely to continue at right-back for Austria, while Nicolas Seiwald is expected to operate in midfield.

Key Player Matchups

Benjamin Sesko has emerged as one of the most exciting young forwards in the world right now after bursting into the scene at RB Leipzig. Last season was a breakthrough campaign for him having scored 18 goals in all competitions while also providing another two assists. Sesko is a tall physical striker who brings pace, agility, and clinical finishing to the team as he can be a nightmare to defend in aerial challenges.

Marcel Sabitzer remains the most crucial player in the team whose versatility has given Ralf Rangnick to use him in several positions. The Dortmund man brings tenacious industry into this Austrian side as he leads by example by closing down opponents with constant pressing and also helps the team in transition. Sabitzer also plays the role efficiently upfront by creating chances for the team as well as chipping in with some important goals.

Team News and Injuries

Slovenia have a fully fit squad to choose from after assembling a good squad consisting of young talents like Benjamin Sesko and experienced players like Andraz Sporar and Jan Oblak.

Meanwhile, Austria have a major doubt in the form of Florian Grillitsch who is recovering from a muscle injury. Ralf Rangnick will also be unable to call upon David Alaba who is still sidelined due to injury.

Head-to-Head Records

Total Matches – 3

Slovenia – 0

Austria – 3

Draws – 0

Predicted Lineups

Slovenia: Oblak (GK); Karnicnik; Drkusic, Bijol, Balkovec; Stojanovic, Lovric, Elsnik, Mlakar; Sporar, Sesko

Austria: Pentz (GK); Posch, Danso, Lienhart, Mwene; Seiwald, Laimer; Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic

Match Prediction

Two of the surprise packages of UEFA Euro 2024 take on each other, which could be the decider for the top spot in the group. These two boast a strong defensive setup and don’t shy away from taking on opponents when needed. However, we expect Austria to come victorious from this match as they have the quality in their rank to pull a surprise win here.

Prediction: Slovenia 1-2 Austria