Cyprus vs Austria prediction: EUROPE: World Cup – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-11-14 17:00.
[p]Cyprus’ FIFA World Cup qualification (WCQ) hopes are already over ahead of their final qualifier of the campaign, but they could prove a stumbling block for Austria, who are on course to secure a place at next summer’s tournament. [/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Cyprus’ hopes of reaching a first major tournament are dead and buried ahead of their final qualifier. Akis Mantzios’ men sit fourth in Group H with two wins from seven games (D2, L3), and both their victories, plus six of their 11 goals in the campaign, came against rock-bottom San Marino, who they thrashed 4-0 last time out. That result ended a run of six internationals without success (D3, L3), conceding exactly twice in five of those matches, and they may fancy their chances of backing that up here given Cyprus are on their longest unbeaten streak on home soil (W2, D2) since August 2017. [/p]
[p]Austria haven’t reached a World Cup this century, but a win in Limassol will be enough to book their spot at the 2026 tournament if Bosnia and Herzegovina slip up against Romania. Ralf Rangnick’s men, who will secure at least a play-off spot with victory here regardless of what happens elsewhere, sit top of the group after winning five of their six qualifiers (L1), with the only blip being a 1-0 defeat to Romania last time out. Austria also registered their biggest-ever victory by hammering San Marino 10-0 in October, but it will not have escaped Rangnick’s attention that their three losses since UEFA Euro 2024 have all come on the road. [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Austria won 1-0 when these two sides met earlier in the campaign – their seventh victory in eight H2Hs (L1). [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Ahead of this round of fixtures, only four teams have had more shots off target in the UEFA section of WCQ this campaign than Cyprus’ 41. [/p]
[p]Cyprus’ 19 offsides is the third-most in the UEFA section of this WCQ campaign ahead of this round.[/p]
[p]Only one of Austria’s last five internationals saw both teams score. [/p]
[p]Since Euro 2024, Austria have scored after half-time of just one of their seven away internationals.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Cyprus will be hoping that Pieros Sotiriou is on form, because he has been on the losing side in just one of the ten competitive internationals in which he has scored (W7, D2). Only one player has had more shots on target in the European section of this WCQ campaign than Marcel Sabitzer’s 14 ahead of this round, leading the Austrian to find the net three times during it.[/p]
[p]Kostakis Artymatas is a doubt for Cyprus, while Austria are without suspended duo David Alaba and Phillipp Mwene.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]With a clear gulf in class between these two sides, and the incentives on offer for the visitors, backing an Austria win to nil seems likely to turn a profit.[/p]
[p]Author: Matt Jones[/p]