The top two in League B Group 3 convene on Sunday evening, as second-placed Austria host leaders Norway in the UEFA Nations League.
The Norwegians will arrive in Linz fresh from continuing their unbeaten start, largely thanks to new all-time top goalscorer Erling Haaland; meanwhile, their hosts smashed four past Kazakhstan.
Match preview
Having taken just one point from two away fixtures in September - including a 2-1 loss to Norway - Austria were under pressure to produce when Group 3 outsiders Kazakhstan paid them a visit on Thursday.
Although Christoph Baumgartner gave the Austrians an early lead, victory was not fully secured until two goals in three second-half minutes - from Philipp Lienhart and Marcel Sabitzer - put the result beyond doubt, before Matthias Seidl made it 4-0.
Ralf Rangnick's side are now level on points with Slovenia, and both teams are vying to join Norway in the hunt for automatic promotion - the group winners will move straight up to League A, while second place secures a playoff.
Relegated last time around, before making an impressive impact at Euro 2024, Austria are intent on making an instant return to Europe's top tier this season.
However, their final fixture before heading into next month's finale pits them against opponents they have beaten just once in four previous meetings this century - though that sole success did come in the 2020 Nations League.
After overcoming the disappointment of missing out on the Euros once again, Norway's superstar striker Erling Haaland returned to the international scene by bagging a late winner to beat Austria in Oslo.
Haaland - who spent time in the Austrian Bundesliga before embarking on his journey to Manchester via Dortmund - showed his disregard for longstanding records on Thursday evening, when he became his country's highest international scorer.
The 24-year-old registered goal 34 just after the hour mark, scoring his second of the game, with each one notched either side of a strike by fellow forward Alexander Sorloth.
Though Stale Solbakken's side began their 2024-25 campaign with a frustrating goalless draw in Kazakhstan, back-to-back victories have now left them top of Group 3 at the halfway stage, with seven points on the board.
Norway may have been waiting far too long to appear at a major finals, but if they can make it three wins from three this weekend, Haaland and co might soon be mixing with Europe's elite in League A.
Team News
Ralf Rangnick has had to improvise when selecting his back four this month, as captain David Alaba is still on the road to recovery following a long layoff, while Kevin Danso and Maximilian Wober are also unavailable.
Philipp Lienhart and Gernot Trauner were paired in central defence against Kazakhstan, but Michael Svoboda and Marco Friedl are close contenders: the former earned his first cap as a substitute on Thursday; the latter is back in Austria's squad after more than two years away.
Having handed Freiburg forward Junior Adamu a rare chance to start in attack, record caps-holder Marko Arnautovic may come into Rangnick's thinking this weekend.
There should be no doubt about the identity of Norway's main striker: Erling Haaland has averaged 0.94 goals per game for his national side to date. Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth and Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Jorgen Strand Larsen lead the queue to partner him.
However, the visitors are again without their inspirational skipper, Martin Odegaard. The Arsenal midfielder is still sidelined by an ankle injury sustained during September's international period, while Haaland's Manchester City teammate Oscar Bobb is also ruled out.
Austria possible starting lineup:
Pentz; Posch, Svoboda, Lienhart, Prass; Seiwald, Laimer, Sabitzer; Schmid, Baumgartner; Arnautovic
Norway possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Ajer, Ostigard, Hanche-Olsen, Wolfe; Pedersen, Thorsby, Berge, Nusa; Sorloth, Haaland
We say: Austria 2-2 Norway
It was a close contest when these sides met in September, with Norway just snatching victory thanks to an 80th-minute winner.
Given home advantage on this occasion, Ralf Rangnick's hard-running Austria side should at least emerge with a draw, keeping them in the mix for a top-two finish next month.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
