Austria and Kosovo both made winning starts to their Nations League Group B3 campaigns and they meet in Vienna on Sunday.
They play their second game under his tutelage against Greece, who have a number of exciting young players and beat Serbia 2-1 last time out.
Austria v Kosovo Tips Summary
Best Bet - Draw or Kosovo double chance @ 5/4
Alternative Bet - Albian Hajdari to be booked @ 11/4
Bet Builder - Under 3.5 goals, Vedat Muriqi to score & under 4.5 Kosovo corners @ 15/2
Austria v Kosovo Prediction
Best Bet: Draw or Kosovo double chance @ 5/4
Kosovo were promoted from the Nations League third tier in 2024/25 thanks to a play-off victory over Iceland and they were worthy winners of their Group B3 opener against the Republic of Ireland.
They had to wait until the 83rd minute to break the deadlock through star striker Vedat Muriqi but finished the game with 22 shots to their opponents' three.
Austria are short-priced favourites to beat Kosovo on Sunday but the visitors should be backed to avoid defeat.
They have made steady progress under coach Franco Foda, narrowly missing out on a place at the 2026 World Cup.
Kosovo lost 4-0 to Switzerland in their opening qualifier but picked up 11 points from five subsequent group games, conceding only one goal.
They beat Slovakia 4-3 in a thrilling play-off semi-final before losing 1-0 in the final against a talented Turkey side.
Ralf Rangnick's Austria did qualify for the World Cup but they struggled for consistency at the finals.
They beat Jordan 3-1, lost 2-0 to Argentina and drew 3-3 with Algeria in the group stage before a resounding 3-0 last-32 defeat to Spain.
Austria failed to register a shot on target against La Roja and they may find it tough to carve out chances against Kosovo.
Rangnick's men beat Israel 3-1 on matchday one but they needed goals in the 90th and 93rd minutes despite playing against 10 men from the 56th minute onwards.
Alternative Bet: Albian Hajdari to be booked @ 11/4
Kosovo's defensive plans were disrupted by this month's shock international retirement of Napoli centre-back Amir Rrahmani.
However, they kept a fifth clean sheet in their last eight competitive matches in the opener against the Republic of Ireland and their three-man defence includes the rugged Albian Hajdari.
The onus is on hosts Austria to take the initiative so Hajdari should have plenty of defensive work to get through on Sunday.
He looks a tempting bet to be booked, as he was in Hoffenheim's first Bundesliga game of September against Borussia Dortmund.
This time last year, Hajdari picked up a yellow card in the 1-0 World Cup qualifying win in Sweden and was cautioned in his next four appearances for Hoffenheim.
He was the only Kosovo defender to be booked in the World Cup play-off final against Turkey and may struggle to stay out of trouble this weekend.
Austria v Kosovo Bet Builder Tip
Under 3.5 goals
Vedat Muriqi to score
Under 4.5 Kosovo corners
Pays 15/2
Kosovo's six World Cup qualifying group games produced only 11 goals and they beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in their Nations League opener. Back under 3.5 goals in Vienna.
Striker Vedat Muriqi scored Kosovo's winner on matchday one, and he struck four times in his most recent Super Lig start for Fenerbahce. Muriqi claimed 23 La Liga goals for Mallorca last season and can breach the Austrian defence.
Under 4.5 Kosovo corners looks a good Bet Builder selection. Despite dominating the Ireland game, they won only one corner and had under 4.5 corners in seven of their eight World Cup qualifiers.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
Austria have won seven of their last eight home matches
Three of Austria's last nine Nations League games ended 1-1
Austria failed to score in their last four international defeats
Kosovo have won five of their last 10 games to nil
Only one of Kosovo's last 10 matches featured over 3.5 goals
Vedat Muriqi has scored eight goals in his last eight appearances for Kosovo and Fenerbahce
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
