Kosovo and Austria meet again in Nations League, a week after 3-1 defeat
On Sunday, 4 October, Kosovo hosted Austria in a UEFA Nations League B Group 3 fixture in Pristina, just a week after Austria's 3-1 win in Vienna, with the two sides occupying the top two spots in the group.
Match context
Kosovo and Austria played their UEFA Nations League B Group 3 round-four fixture on 4 October at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri in Pristina. Sources disagree on the exact kick-off time: Goal.com lists 17:00, while OneFootball states 21:00.
Previous meeting
The two sides last met a week earlier, on 27 September, when Austria claimed a convincing 3-1 win in Vienna. That remains the only recorded head-to-head fixture between the nations, giving Austria a clean sweep in the series so far.
Standings and form
Going into this round, Austria sat top of the group with Kosovo in second, making this a clash between the group's two leading sides. Kosovo had won two, drawn one and lost two of their previous five matches, including the defeat to Austria and a 0-0 draw with Israel. Austria had won two, drawn two and lost one in their last five, with back-to-back wins followed by a 2-2 draw away to Ireland.
Kosovo forward Vedat Muriqi had been carrying a muscular problem that kept him out of the Israel match, while, as reported by OneFootball, Austria were missing Paul Wanner and Nikolas Veratschnig.
Match statistics
According to figures compiled by the BBC, Austria dominated possession, holding the ball 61.9% of the time against Kosovo's 38.1%. Austria also had more shots (3 to 2) and shots on target (1 to 0), more touches inside the opposition box (9 to 2), and two corners to Kosovo's none. Austria's passing accuracy stood at 83.8%, compared with 72.9% for Kosovo.
Predictions
Ahead of kick-off, Austria were widely tipped as favourites, including by OneFootball, on the back of their recent win over Kosovo and their unbeaten run in the competition.
