VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian police joked that they expected a long, sleepless night on Friday with the weather forecast to be warm and dry and 200,000 fans due in Vienna to watch Croatia play Turkey in their Euro 2008 quarter-final.

"Whoever wins we will have a long night, and I am sure victorious fans will want to party in the city after the game," said Christian Stella, a spokesman for Vienna police.

Vienna has sizeable Turkish and Croatian communities who will be joined by Croats and Turks living in neighbouring Germany, as well as fans travelling from the countries themselves, police said.

Croatians have made up one of the tournament's largest group of supporters, and have a relatively short drive from Croatia to Austria to cheer on their team.

About 4,600 police will be on duty, supported by 15 Croatian and four Turkish hooligan spotters. The winning team will face Germany in the semi-finals in Basel next Wednesday.

A former Miss Italy, who will work as a volunteer first aider in the Vienna fanzone, told a news conference on Friday how much she was looking forward to the match.

Vienna authorities said this week they would be indulgent of the different ways foreign fans celebrate, and were looking forward to experiencing the southern temperament in the city.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)