Any way back for Lafferty? Talking points ahead of Northern Ireland v Austria

Northern Ireland return to Nations League action in Vienna on Friday when they face Austria in the first of two crunch away games in their group.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at five talking points ahead of the fixture.

Lafferty’s absence

Points to prove

Northern Ireland’s attacking display in their Nations League opener earned plenty of plaudits – but no points as O’Neill’s side conspired to lose 2-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a game they dominated. That has put the pressure on for the away double-header against Austria and Bosnia this week as further setbacks could see them face relegation in the Nations League format, dealing a blow to their Euro 2020 qualification hopes. Austria also suffered an opening loss to Bosnia, leaving both teams under early pressure going into Friday’s match in Vienna.

Style, substance or both?

Northern Ireland’s domination against Bosnia a month ago came as they imposed themselves on the game from the off with an attacking style. No longer content to pick teams off on counter-attacks or from set-pieces, O’Neill’s team were firmly on the front foot from the start, only to be undone by clumsy mistakes at the back on Bosnia’s rare forays forward. O’Neill’s players have spoken about how much they enjoyed the tactics, but will they be seen this weekend given the fact they are away from home and in need of results?

Austria without Alaba

Austria will start the match without star man David Alaba after he suffered a hamstring injury in Bayern Munich’s shock 3-0 home loss to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday. The 26-year-old, capable of playing in a number of positions but most often seen at left-wingback of late, is usually the focal point for the national team and his absence will be keenly felt. Captain Julian Baumgartlinger and midfielder Florian Grillitsch are also injury doubts.

Who starts in goal?