Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
No home comforts for Marcel
AUSTRIA will be without striker Marcel Sabitzer on Sunday – after he injured himself at home! But Bayern Munich star David Alaba is set to play after making remarkable progress with a knee injury. Sabitzer slipped in his living room and injured a muscle in his arm. The RB Leipzig attacker started Austria’s 1-0 defeat to Ireland last November and smashed a shot off Darren Randolph’s crossbar. Alaba is back in training having been recently plagued by a knee problem. Patched up, he joined in with the squad yesterday after initially fearing he would miss this key qualifier. Marc Janko, Louis Schaub, Valentino Lazaro and Martin Harnik have also been nursing knocks but are expected to be fit. Harnik said: “Ireland will be physical, that is their style and their mentality. “But it’s not unfair, we just have to adjust – we have to accept it will be a fight.” Ex-cardiff City striker Guido Burgstaller will be out to break his duck for Austria, having drawn a blank in his 10 caps to date. But he scored 26 goals in 46 games this season, having joined German giants Schalke from Nurnberg halfway through the campaign. Burgstaller, who could also fill in out wide for banned Stoke star Marko Arnautovic, says Austria are ready to jumpstart their fading World Cup hopes. “I’ve proved I can score goals. You always want to give your best whether it’s on the right, the left or in the middle. “The importance of this game in Dublin is clear to the team. We want a good result – we’re focused and everyone is ready.”