Qualifying for the 2024 European Championship continues this week with a meeting between Austria and Sweden in Group F.
The game will be played at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna and the hosts are currently top of the group on 7 points from three matches while the visitors are in third place on 3 points having played one game fewer.
Verdient! 💪🏻🇦🇹 #GemeinsamÖSTERREICH pic.twitter.com/W9sfKKOEtd— ÖFB - oefb.at (@oefb1904) June 17, 2023
Verdient! 💪🏻🇦🇹 #GemeinsamÖSTERREICH pic.twitter.com/W9sfKKOEtd
Austria come into the match on the back of a good 1-1 draw in Belgium on the weekend. Austria took the lead against the group favourites in the 21st minute and went in at half time leading.
Belgium scored the equaliser just after the hour mark but Austria did not allow the hosts to go on and win the match, picking up what could be a crucial point.
The draw in Belgium means Austria are undefeated in their last 5 fixtures. They have won 4 of those 5 games with the wins coming over Azerbaijan and Estonia at home in European Championship qualification plus Andorra away and Italy at home in friendly matches.
Trends show Austria are undefeated in 10 of their 11 most recent European Championship games. They have won each of their last 6 home European Championship qualifying matches and have seen both teams score in each of their last 4 on home soil.
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in each of Austria’s last 5 home European Championship qualifiers.
Sweden travel to the Ernst-Happel-Stadion having recently defeated New Zealand in a friendly. Sweden were the clear favourites to win the game but they conceded the opening goal after just 7 minutes.
It took until the 39th minute for Sweden to respond and they took the lead 5 minutes later. Sweden scored again on the stroke of half time and added a fourth goal in the second half.
The win over New Zealand means Sweden are undefeated in 7 of their last 8 fixtures in all competitions. There have been friendly wins over Mexico, Algeria, Finland, and Iceland.
There was also a 5-0 home victory over Azerbaijan in European Championship qualifying plus a 1-1 draw at home with Slovenia in the Nations League.
Trends show Sweden have not been beaten in 23 of their 27 most recent matches in European Championship qualifying. They have won each of their last 3 away games in the competition and have seen over 2.5 goals in 5 of their last 6 away European Championship qualifying matches.
Team news and Austria could make one change from the team that started in Belgium with Philipp Mwene coming in for Max Wober in defence.
Sweden will be relying on Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak for goals and he is likely to be supported in attack by Dejan Kulusevski.
This should be one of the most exciting fixtures to watch in this round of European Championship qualifying. We expect to see both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals in a match that could end level.