Will the Austrians remain undefeated?
So far, the Austrian national team has lived up to its role as favorite in Group B3 of the Nations League with flying colors. After two games, Rangnick’s squad sits atop the standings with six points and a goal difference of 6–2. Can this winning streak continue in Dublin?
Even though head coach Ralf Rangnick’s team is plagued by several absences—and, in addition to David Alaba, Marcel Sabitzer, and Christoph Baumgartner, must now also do without the injured Paul Wanner and Nikolas Veratschnig—Austria has a squad with significantly stronger individual talent than its opponent. For the Ireland vs. Austria match, the prediction is therefore a victory for the visiting team—especially since Konrad Laimer and Michael Gregoritsch, two key pillars of the team, are back in action.
A look at both teams’ rosters shows that anything other than a victory for the red-white-red visitors would be a surprise, and accordingly, given the favorable odds for the Ireland vs. Austria match, a bet should be placed on the 23rd-ranked team in the world. While nearly all of the Austrian players are under contract with clubs in Europe’s top five leagues, most of the Irish players earn their living in the second-tier Championship. The top stars of the Irish team are former Liverpool backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who now plays for Brentford, and forward Troy Parrot, who plays for Betis Sevilla in Spain.
Despite the Austrians’ superior quality, they must not underestimate their opponents. Although the Irish haven’t qualified for a major tournament in quite some time, they came close to qualifying for the World Cup recently, falling short only in the playoff round. Most recently, the team led by Heimir Hallgrimsson—who led Iceland to a victory over Austria at Euro 2016—made a strong statement by defeating Israel 3–0.
The Austrians have learned the hard way on more than one occasion that Ireland—especially when playing on the island—is no pushover. In fact, the continental Europeans haven’t won a match in Dublin since June 1995.
This is surprising given that in only one of Rangnick’s team’s last six games have fewer than three goals been scored, and the Irish have also been in a scoring mood of late. So, contrary to the bookmakers’ predictions, it’s worth betting on plenty of goals in the Ireland vs. Austria match.
Ireland – Austria Head-to-Head Record
In head-to-head play, Austria has the edge with nine wins out of 16 games. However, the Alpine nation has not been able to win its most recent matches on the Emerald Isle.
Ireland – Austria Prediction
Despite some injury concerns, the Austrian national team has a significantly better roster than its opponent and should therefore be able to celebrate its third win in three games.
However, since the Irish are a tough opponent—especially in home games—it might also be worth placing a DNB bet just to be safe.
In addition, the odds offered for over 2.5 goals in the Ireland vs. Austria match seem a bit too high. Therefore, there’s likely to be value in betting on three or more goals.
