Romania vs Austria prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Nations League 2020-21
Romania host Austria at the Ilie Oana stadium, Ploiești in the fourth round of their UEFA Nations League Group B1 fixture.
Romania won the reverse fixture 3-2 in September in a five-goal thriller and will be looking to complete the double over the Austrians in the midweek clash.
Austria are currently the joint leaders of the group with six points alongside Norway and their only defeat of the campaign came against Romania. Austria will therefore be eager to avenge their home defeat and return the favour when they travel to the Ilie Oana stadium.
It is a crucial fixture for both the sides as a win for Austria would virtually seal their top-two finish and condemn Romania to a knockout. On the other hand, Romania need a win to keep their hopes alive.
Romania vs Austria Head-to-Head
Romania and Austria have only met nine times across all competitions, despite their first reported encounter taking place in 1924. Of those nine fixtures, both countries have two games apiece and the remaining five ended in stalemates.
The Tricolorii came out on top in their latest meeting, inflicting a 3-2 loss on Austria on their own turf for the first time in history while Das Team's last win against Romania came in 2009. Romania have never lost a home game against Austria.
In terms of recent form, Austria are clear favourites as Romania were thrashed 4-0 in their latest Nations League match by Norway while Austria registered a comfortable 1-0 win over Northern Ireland.
Romania form guide: L-L-W-D-L
Austria form guide: W-W-L-W-L
Romania vs Austria Team News
Injury to defender Vlad Chiriches just before the international break has left Romania stretched thin in the defensive department and has forced manager Mirel Rădoi to use the same back four in the last two games. With not a lot of depth in his squad, it is expected that the same defensive line that conceded four goals against Norway will be fielded.
The manager has experimented with his front three, but in a game with high stakes, he'll probably go for Ianis Hagi and George Puscas in the starting lineup. Fortunately, apart from Chiriches, there are no new injury concerns for them.
Injured: Vlad Chiriches (leg), Florin Andone, Florinel Coman
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Austria have enjoyed wins in their recent fixtures with the same set of players. There is no reason for Franco Foda to change the squad following their 1-0 win over Northern Ireland. David Alaba was back in action in their previous game and that was definitely a boost for them.
LASK goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, Freiburg centre-back Philipp Lienhart and LASK centre-back Gernot Trauner will probably miss out due to injuries.
Michael Gregoritsch has stepped up and added a lot of teeth to their attack in recent games and should start again up front against Romania. There are no fresh injury concerns for the manager to deal with ahead of this fixture.
Injured: Alexander Schlager, Philipp Lienhart, Gernot Trauner
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Romania vs Austria Predicted XI
Romania Predicted XI (4-3-3): Ciprian Tatarusanu; Cristian Manea, Alin Tosca, Mihai Bălașa, Andrei Burca; Nicolae Stanciu, Alexandru Cretu, Alexandru Maxim; George Pușcaș, Denis Alibec, Ciprian Deac
Austria Predicted XI (4-3-3): Pavao Pervan; Stefan Lainer, Aleksandar Dragovic, Martin Hinteregger, David Alaba; Florian Grillitsch, Christoph Baumgartner, Florian Grillitsch; Xaver Schlager Michael Gregoritsch, Julian Baumgartlinger
Romania vs Austria Prediction
Romania may have won their first meeting of the competition last month but they find themselves in a rut now and have been especially poor defensively. Their attackers are struggling to find the back of the net. In the Nations League, they have conceded seven goals and scored just three, while their opponents have conceded four times, making the five goals they have scored count.
Based on current form, Austria seem likely to triumph when the two teams meet on Wednesday night.
Prediction: Romania 0-2 Austria