Northern Ireland vs Austria 19/11/18

19 November 2018

Northern Ireland will host Austria at the Windsor Park in Belfast, hoping to get their first points in the UEFA Nations League Group B/3.

The match between the two sides won’t change anything in this respective group, considering Bosnia and Herzegovina already advanced to the next round, while Northern Ireland bottom the table with all three defeats.

The Green and White Army have lost both games against the Dragons, having conceded four goals in the process. Additionally, in the first meeting against Austria, Michael O’Neill’s players have suffered a narrow 1-0 loss, which has left them with just one goal scored in the elite competition so far. Moreover, the Norn Iron have won only one out of the previous seven encounters, having lost four while playing out two draws in the process. Before a scoreless draw with the Republic of Ireland a few days ago, Steven Davis and his fellow countrymen have failed to keep a clean sheet in four out of five matches while missing out to finding the back of the net three times in that period.

On the other hand, Austria lost the UEFA Nations League opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on the road, after which they’ve managed to achieve their first and so far the only victory in the competition. Despite having initiative and creating numerous goalscoring opportunities, Das Team failed to defeat the Dragons earlier this week, which has left them with no chances of taking over the first place in the group. Meanwhile, Franco Foda’s players have lost to Denmark in the international friendly challenge by two goals to nil, which was their third failure in the past six matches. However, Austria’s defense has proved to be the brightest spot of the team, as they’ve managed to keep a clean sheet in six out of the last ten meetings, while the attack missed out to scoring four times in the process.

Provisional line-up – Northern Ireland:

Gk: Peacock-Farrell Defense: Cathcart – Jonny Evans – Lewis – Michael Smith Midfield: Saville – Steven Davis – Corry Evans Attack: Gavin Whyte – Stuart Dallas – Liam Boyce

Provisional line-up – Austria:

Gk: Lindner Defense: Dragovic – Hinteregger – Lainer – Alaba Midfield: Baumgartlinger – Schlager – Schopf Attack: Lazaro – Gregoritsch – Arnautovic