Vienna: Turkey are treating their Group A qualifier against Austria on Tuesday "like a final", in their bid for a place at the 2012 European Championship.
The 2008 semi-finalists are second in Group A with 13 points - six ahead of fourth-place Austria.
"The Austria match will be like a final for us," Turkey forward Cenk Tosun told the state-run Anatolia news agency on Sunday. "Hopefully we will return with three points."
Germany have already won the group with the maximum 24 points from eight games and Belgium are third with 12 points.
Turkey's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink lacks midfielders Emre Belozoglu - due to injury - and Selcuk Inan, who is suspended following his red card in the closing minutes against Kazakhstan on Friday.
Turkey boosted their chances to finish second with a dramatic 2-1 win over Kazakhstan, when Arka Turan scored with a free kick in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
"It is a highly important match (against Austria) to gain the upper hand in the group," defender Ismail Koybasi said. "We are missing some players but the rest of the players have the ability to fill the gap."
Turkey goalkeeper Tolga Zengin is doubtful because of back problems, but midfielder Yekta Kurtulus and defender Servet Cetin have returned from injuries.
Austria must win to stand any chance of reaching the play-offs, but have not beaten Turkey in almost 23 years. Austria have lost all five matches since November 1988 and have been outscored 15-2. In March, Turkey won their first qualifier 2-0.
Dietmar Constantini's team must also bounce back from Friday's 6-2 loss at Germany.
"It's not easy to forget about such a match," Austria defender Ekrem Dag said. "The most difficult is waking up next morning and remembering what happened the night before."
Austria are likely to miss captain Marc Janko because of a groin injury. Constantini called up striker Stefan Maierhofer as a possible starter alongside Marko Arnautovic, while Paul Scharner has returned from suspension.
"The good thing is that we are still in with a chance despite that loss," Scharner said. "We will give everything and try to get a good result though it will be difficult. Turkey are even stronger in away games because they feel less pressure than at home."
Also on Tuesday, Azerbaijan take on Kazakhstan in Baku but both teams can't advance anymore. Belgium, who have played one more match than Turkey, will resume qualifying in October.
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