Austria vs Estonia prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-03-26 18:45.
Austria collected just their second competitive victory (D1, L4) under Ralf Rangnick when thrashing Group F minnows Azerbaijan 4-1 to win their opening game of a European Championship qualifying (ECQ) cycle for the first time since 2010. Recent history will remind Austria that success is not earned on the inaugural matchday though, having won their first game of the previous UEFA Nations League (UNL) only to be relegated from League A.
Group F outsiders Estonia are next up, and whilst Austria had a comfortable three-goal lead at the hour mark against Azerbaijan on Friday, the fact they ultimately conceded for a sixth consecutive competitive outing was a blotch on an otherwise positive evening. Should they rectify that immediately, a repeat of either the 3-0 or 2-0 H2H wins they secured in the 1998 World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ), the only two prior meetings between these sides, could be on the cards.
As one of two nations outside FIFA’s top-100 ranked teams in the group, Estonia are widely expected to battle with Azerbaijan to avoid last place in Group F. They were able to avenge their UNL relegation in 2021 by regaining promotion to League C in the most recent cycle, but still have plenty to prove after recording their worst ECQ and WCQ campaigns since the mid-1990s in their previous attempts.
There have been some signs of improvement under current manager Thomas Häberli, including five goals scored from their six WCQ matches (W1, D1, L4) under his stewardship in 2021, compared with an aggregate score of 2-26 across their entire failed eight-game ECQ attempt for the 2020 tournament. Whilst they were unable to find the net in a 1-0 friendly loss to Hungary last week, which would’ve been especially painful for Häberli given his first game in charge of Estonia was a 1-0 defeat to Hungarian club Ferencváros, positive results in two January friendlies as underdogs (W1, D1) can offer motivation.
Players to watch: Marcel Sabitzer followed up an FA Cup goal for Manchester United with two strikes and an assist for Austria, and has now won the last five games for club or country in which he delivered a contribution (G4, A3). Similarly, Martin Miller has scored in three wins for club side Flora or Estonia this calendar year.
Hot stat: Only one of Estonia’s last 19 games saw both teams score in the first half.