Wales vs. Austria Preview, Odds, Prediction

Wales and Austria meet at Cardiff City Stadium in the World Cup qualifiers matchup, which should be very interesting. These teams have the exact same ambition and that is to win on Thursday night. The bookmakers see this event as the closest one of all, with both units having the same chances for advancing to the next stage. Wales’ home-court edge might be valuable, but we’ve often seen the Austrians deliver stunning performances on the road. One small detail can be decisive, and that makes football so fascinating.

Preview

Wales (+170) comes into this event with high morale, after seven straight games in which they haven’t lost. They did win only on three occassions, but still, when seeing their rivals, this stretch is very good. Among other teams, the Dragons stopped Belgium, against whom they played 1-1.

They are an extremely inconsistent crew when it comes to efficiency, and so far there isn’t any reliable pattern in their recent performances. They play a game with four goals today, and two days later without any scores.

From what we’ve seen in the qualifiers, the Dragons tend to have less efficient matches at home, where they usually protect their own net. We repeat this is only a tendency, not a pattern.

Austria (+170) had a mediocre appearance at the EURO, reaching the round of 16, but they would lose in that stage against Italy. After that, the Austrians have played seven World Cup qualification games, winning four of them and losing three.

From what we’ve seen, this unit plays open and attractive football. They are aware that the defense doesn’t have some shiny potential, which is why an offensive approach tries to cover up all the minuses in the back line.

We just wanted to mention that Austria got in the playoffs due to their UEFA Nations League results and that they played a vast part of the WC campaign knowing that they are already safe for this round.

Latest News

Danny Ward, Kieffer Moore, and Joe Morrell are out the first two due to injuries, and the latter because of the suspension. Bale, Ramsey, James, and other starters are all ready to go.

All the players on the Austrian side are supposed to be ready for this event.

Head to Head Games

The most recent meeting between these two sides was in 2017, once they met in the World Cup qualifiers, Group D. The game in Wales ended 1-0 for the hosts, while the clash in Vienna finished with four goals and a 2-2 draw. Neither side managed even to reach the second spot and playoffs.

Prediction

Both sides are inconsistent, not when looking at their overall performances, but during the game as well. They play in waves, defending and attacking in series. That is why we believe that both teams to score should be the best bet for this event. We wouldn’t go into picking the winner because it is too risky. As said, one small detail could be a difference-maker, and these units are very, very close when it comes to quality.

Pick: Both teams to score