The first match of the Marcel Koller era sends the boys in red to Kiev to face the Euro 2012 co-hosts. While many other countries have 2 friends this coming week, the Austrians have elected to play only one. So I anticipate Koller using a full allotment of substitutes and not playing for a result. The team he is taking with him is below with my thoughts at each position.
Keepers:
Robert Almer- Fortuna Dusseldorf (Ger) 0 starts
Pascal Grunwald- Austria Vienna (Aust) 3
Heinz Lindner- Austria Vienna (Aust) 0
I anticipate seeing Grunwald play and get the full 90. Lindner hasn’t seen the field for his club so far, so he is in the squad is for him to just get used to being there.
Defenders:
Aleksandar Dragovic- FC Basel (Sui) 14
Christian Fuchs- Schalke 04 (Ger) 46/ 1 goal
Florian Klein- Austria Vienna (Aus) 10
George Margreitter- Austria Vienna (Aus) 0
Manuel Ortlechner- Austria Vienna (Aus) 7
Emanuel Pogatetz- Hanover 96 (Ger) 46/2 goals
Sebastian Prodl- Werder Bremen (Ger) 31/3 goals
Franz Schiemer- RB Salzburg (Aus) 21/ 4 goals
Fuchs is a given, but would love to see Prodl and Dragovic get playing time due to their youth. Dragovic in particular has been doing very well in helping Basel to hold their own in the Champions League play.
Midfielders:
Daniel Alaba- Bayern Munich (Ger) 15
Julian Baumgartlinger- Mainz 05 (Ger) 17
Christopher Drazan- Rapid Vienna (Aus) 3
Andreas Ivanschitz- Mainz 05 (Ger) 51/8 goals
Zlatko Junuzovic- Austria Vienna (Aus) 16/1 goal
Veli Kavlak- Besiktas (Tur) 14
Florian Mader- Austria Vienna (Aus) 0
Christopher Trimmel- Rapid Vienna (Aus) 3
The midfield will either be four or five, but I anticipate seeing Baumgartlinger and Alaba, who recently played a full 90 for Bayern in their victory over Augsburg, and even came on as a sub in their 3-2 Champions League victory over Napoli.
Forwards
Marko Arnautovic- Werder Bremen (Ger) 15/5 goals
Martin Harnik- VfB Stuttgart (Ger) 27/6 goals
Erwin Hoffer- Eintract Frankfurt (Ger) 27/4 goals
Marc Janko- FC Twente (Neth) 23/9 goals
This would be the most talented area for the Austrians, and I could see any of these four getting time and/or scoring a goal.
I anticipate a draw here either 2-2 or 1-1, with the inexperience at keeper it would take an excellent full team effort to get a clean sheet. I think Janko will get a goal for the Wunderteam, as his strong season in the Netherlands will hopefully carry over here.
Ukraine is playing 2 during this international break, as the Germans are also coming to Kiev on Friday. I anticipate them using both of these to finalize their Euro lineups and will not settle for anything less than a win against Austria.
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