Austria vs Serbia prediction: WORLD: Friendly International betting tips on match 2024-06-03 18:45.
[p]Austria will continue their preparations for this month’s Euros with two friendlies against similarly ranked opponents, beginning with their first meeting with Serbia since October 2017. In a tricky looking group at the Euros along with France, the Netherlands and Poland, Austria have been in some imperious form over the last six months or so, scoring 13 goals and conceding just once on the way to five consecutive wins, a run which included a victory in November 2023 against Euro 2024 host nation Germany.[/p]
[p]Head coach Ralf Rangnick recently reaffirmed his commitment to the national team by turning down an offer to replace Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich for 2024/25, stating his desire to eclipse the 2020 run to the Round of 16 as well as getting the country to their first World Cup finals since 1998. Rangnick’s side, alongside ‘non-playing captain’ David Alaba who has not recovered from a major knee injury, will bid farewell to their fans before the Euro finals at a venue where they’ve won four of their last five matches (losing 3-2 to Belgium). [/p]
[p]Serbia will play their third and fourth consecutive away games of 2024 in this window as they approach their first European Championships since their nation split from Montenegro in 2006. Manager Dragan Stojković has already been rewarded for getting the proud nation back to the World Cup and the Euros with a contract extension through to 2026, which was confirmed in late May, although qualifying through a tough group at the championships would see his stock rise even further.[/p]
[p]Recent inconsistent performances, including their last nine matches which produced a different result to the previous game (W3, D3, L3), makes escaping Group C unlikely. Serbia’s form when it comes to friendlies in opposition territory is similarly mixed, with all seven of their last such games producing a winner (Serbia: W4, L3) and most going the way of the pre-match favourites.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: He may have endured a quiet end to his club season, but Christoph Baumgartner was on target in each of Austria’s last three matches. Salzburg’s Serbian defender Strahinja Pavlović could offer some insight into the opposition and be a danger in front of goal, after scoring or assisting in three of his last five club games.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Both Austria and Serbia have opened the scoring within 30 minutes in each of their last four victories.[/p]