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11. 09. 12. - 16:35
Austria gears up for match against Germany
Austria coach Marcel Koller is expected to name a Bundesliga-heavy line-up as they gear up for the visit of their near neighbours, in their first World Cup qualifying match.
After making inroads into the first team over the last year, Fortuna Dusseldorf goalkeeper Robert Almer will continue between the posts, with Emanuel Pogatetz and Sebastian Prodl starting at centre-back after Paul Scharner's bust-up with the Austrian FA led to him being banished from the national team.
Bayern Munich utility man David Alaba is currently recovering from a pre-season foot injury, leaving Veli Kavlak and Julian Baumgartlinger to occupy the midfield, with Martin Harnik, Zlatko Junuzovic and Andreas Ivanschitz playing just behind Marko Arnautovic.
Meanwhile, Joachim Low is expected to revert to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation after fielding an extra playmaker in a 4-1-4-1 in Friday's 3-0 win over Faroe Islands.
Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Mesut Ozil and Marco Reus formed a quartet behind lone striker Miroslav Klose, but the Bayern Munich attacker is set to drop out, with Toni Kroos, who missed the Faroes clash with a hip injury, returning to fold alongside Sami Khedira in the deep-lying midfield positions.
In defence, Marcel Schmelzer missed the Hannover fixture with a foot injury, but has been back in training as of Sunday, and should be able to play at left-back, with Holger Badstuber moving back to the heart of defence and Per Mertesacker making way.
Elsewhere, the Nationalmannschaft are expected to be unchanged as they look to make it two wins in as many World Cup qualifying games.
