Austria will be looking to spring the shock of the tournament as they need to beat Germany in Vienna.
Co-hosts looking to shock pre-tournament favourites
Austria will be looking to spring the shock of the tournament as they need to beat Germany to progress to the quarter-finals.
Written off before the tournament began, the co-hosts have turned in two spirited performances to keep their hopes alive.
Germany suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Croatia in their second match and need to avoid defeat to advance to the last eight and a meeting with Portugal.
The respective reputations of the two sides would suggest that Austria have little chance, but in Cordoba in 1978 they managed to knock then holders West Germany out of the World Cup with a 3-2 victory.
Excellent shape
Josef Hickersberger played in that match and he believes his side can repeat history after Ivica Vastic's last-gasp penalty rescued a 1-1 draw against Poland on Thursday.
"We're in excellent shape," he said. "We're better than we were in February and we have a decent chance.
"This is the biggest match of my life and it will be the biggest match of all time if we win.
"Germany weren't that good against Croatia and they have problems. One or two players are injured, they're not playing that well and we have home advantage.
"I'd put our chances at 40 per cent - people might think I'm pessimistic but that's quite good."
Sebastien Prodl is suspended for Austria but Hickersberger has no other injury problems and is unlikely to make many changes.
Vastic will be hoping to get a starting spot after his heroics against Poland, while Roman Kienast could also play after an impressive performance as a substitute.
Schweinsteiger banned
Germany were disappointing against Croatia following an encouraging 2-0 victory over Poland in their group opener.
Joachim Low will also be without the banned Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marcell Jansen (shoulder), but top scorer Lukas Podolski (foot) and Philipp Lahm (calf and shin) have both been passed fit.
Heiko Westermann is also available despite a hand injury and will wear a protective cast if called upon.
Low is demanding an improved display but accepts that it will not be easy to see off Austria.
He said: "I promise you the team will play differently. Thirty million people will be watching in Germany and we have to win for them and for our nation.
"The match against Croatia is a thing of the past. We'll have to push to the limit because Austria have improved in the last few weeks and months.
"They're a team of fighters but we will go the extra mile."
