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Both aiming to make it back-to-back victories to kick off the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League campaign, Austria and Kosovo will square off in Vienna on Sunday.
The hosts beat Israel on Thursday in their first game following the World Cup, while their visitors prevailed at home to Ireland.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Austria vs. Kosovo key stats
- Austria have won 11 of their last 16 games in all competitions.
- Sunday's match will be the first H2H on record.
- Kosovo have won seven of their last eight Nations League matches.
Austria vs. Kosovo preview: Kosovo face stern test in Vienna
Austria vs Kosovo — Tale of the Tape
| Austria | vs | Kosovo |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Position | 2nd |
| 3 | Points | 3 |
| 3 | Goals For | 1 |
| 1 | Goals Against | 0 |
| 0 | Clean Sheets | 1 |
| 1st (H) | Home / Away Rank | 2nd (A) |
Austria head into their second consecutive home UEFA Nations League game on Sunday aiming to make it back-to-back wins to start the term and establish their dominance in group B3.
They finished second in the same group in the last campaign, picking up 11 points from six games, but failed to earn promotion having lost in a playoff with Serbia, before an impressive World Cup qualifying bid saw them earn a place in this summer's tournament in USA, Mexico and Canada.
A third-placed group finish on four points was enough to see them through to the round of 32, scoring six goals and conceding six, only to meet eventual winners Spain and bow out in a 3-0 loss.
Coming into the September and October break without several key names, with David Alaba, Marcel Sabitzer, Florian Grillitsch and Marcel Sabitzer all ruled out after the World Cup while 137-capped forward Marko Arnautovic has retired from international football, they got off to a winning start regardless on Thursday, beating Israel 3-1 having led through Romano Schmid and been pegged back before Phillipp Mwene and Sasa Kalajdzic scored injury-time goals.
With positives to take from that first outing with a younger squad, albeit having played the final 30 minutes against 10 men, Austria will now look to make it six points from two games to kick off their bid to win the group and earn promotion to League A.
Their visitors also got off to a winning start on Thursday after winning promotion from League C in 2024-25.
A second-placed group finish on 12 points from six games was enough to put Kosovo in a promotion playoff last year, and they saw off Iceland before again finding themselves in a playoff for a World Cup place after an impressive qualifying campaign.
That playoff was not as successful for the Dardanet, who beat Slovakia only to lose to Turkey in tje final stage and miss out, meaning their last action before the Nations League came in friendlies against Czech Republic and Andorra in May and June, losing 2-1 and winning 3-0 respectively.
Aiming to bounce back on their return to competitive action, they kicked off the new Nations League campaign at home to Ireland on Thursday and put three points on the board, winning 1-0 as Vedat Muriqi scored the decisive goal seven minutes from time.
Encouraged by that opening result, after going six World Cup qualifying games unbeaten before their playoff defeat, Kosovo will aim to continue their improvement with a second straight win on Sunday.
Austria vs. Kosovo form guide & betting tips
| Austria | vs | Kosovo |
|---|---|---|
WLDLW |
Form | WLLWW |
| 9 | Goals For | 9 |
| 10 | Goals Against | 6 |
W |
Nations League | W |
Whispers predicts: Austria 2-1 Kosovo
Austria come into the contest as favourites on home soil, but they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five games, while Kosovo have only been shut out once in their last eight matches. We fancy Both Teams to Score at 5/6 (1.83).
Despite major changes to their squad from the World Cup, Austria do still come in with the far stronger squad, though, and still boast plenty of international experience. We back them to take all three points and win at 4/7 (1.57).
In a somewhat new-look Austria team, without several of its key players, Romano Schmid took up an attacking midfield role last time out and got on the scoresheet. We fancy him to score again at a generous price of 13/8 (2.63).
> Both Teams to Score at 5/6 (1.83) | Likelihood: Probable
> Austria to win a 4/7 (1.57) | Likelihood: Likely
> Romano Schmid to score anytime at 13/8 (2.63) | Likelihood: Possible