Austria are something of an unknown quantity for Ireland. Although the Boys in Green have met their Alpine opponents on 12 occasions, the last meeting was way back in September 1995 when Jack Charlton’s team lost 3 – 1 in a Euro 96 qualifier.
But what can Giovanni Trapattoni expect from the current Austria crop on Tuesday?
Form
As things stand after Friday’s matches, Austria are third in Group C on seven points, ahead of Ireland on goal difference after a regulation 6 - 0 win over the Faroe Islands in Vienna.
Their form has been inconsistent. They opened their World Cup qualifying campaign against neighbours Germany, losing 2 – 1 at home. However, they did give their Germanic cousins a good game in the second half of that match, putting up far more of a fight when compared with Ireland’s performance against the Germans at the Aviva.
Their next assignment saw Marcel Koller’s side slip up in Kazakhstan with a 0 – 0 away draw which makes Ireland’s fortunate 2 – 1 victory in Astana back in September look quite good in hindsight.
However Austria did find form in the home leg just four days later as they thumped four goals past the Kazakhs to put themselves back in contention for a playoff spot before hitting the Faroes for six on Friday night.
Outside of competitive internationals, Austria lost a friendly to a Gareth Bale inspired Wales in Cardiff last month.
Formation
Unlike Trap’s Ireland, Austria tend to play a modern 4-2-3-1 system with the exception of the goalless draw in Kazakhstan where manager Koller opted for a flat 4-4-2 - which did not work on the plastic pitch in Astana.
But in other ways there is one similarity between the two teams. There is a lot of inexperience in goal with just 10 caps between the three keepers called up to the squad for theIreland match. However Robert Almer of Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf is likely to start.
In front of him there will be the tall and established centre-back partnership of West Ham’s Emmanuel Pogatetz and Werder Bremen’s Sebastian Prodl, usually flanked by captain Christian Fuchs of Schalke and Bologna’s Gyorgy Garics.
Interestingly Austria’s star player David Alaba is played as one of two defensive midfielders even though he is one of the best left-backs in the world at club level. But he does bring pace, power and energy to the engine room. In the 4 – 0 win over Kazakhstan in Vienna, the Bayern Munich starlet scored once and provided two assists, and also found the net and got another assist against the Faroes.
He is likely to be partnered by Turkey-based Veli Kavlak who is an odd choice in defensive midfield as he seems to be more of a deep-lying creator rather than a ball winner which is an area that Ireland could exploit.
In front of that midfield foundation, there is a rotating cast of attacking talent who provide the ammunition for lone striker. It is difficult to predict exactly who will take up the four forward roles in the team based on the fact that Koller has moved players about frequently.
However it is safe to say that the controversial but talented Marko Arnautovic of Werder Bremen is likely to fill one of the wide positions while his Bundesliga team-mate Zlatko Junuzovic is likely to start in the No 10 position.
The pacy Arnautovic who got two assists against Kazakhstan will provide the ammunition for Martin Harnik who might start up front or on the flanks. Not a natural centre-forward – as he can also play out wide – the Stuttgart forward is not hugely prolific having scored eight international goals in 34 caps.
If he does not start at centre-forward, 6ft 5 target man Mark Janko who scored twice against Kazakhstan is likely to come in to provide a focal point and aerial threat.
With him in the side, Austria will not hesitate when putting balls in the box as you can see in the highlights from 4 - 0 win over Kazakhstan below. But due to their formation and technical superiority, expect Austria to still have the bulk of possession when they come calling at the Aviva.
