It is a battle of the early pacesetters in Group F of the European World Cup qualifiers as Austria host Denmark at the Ernst-Happel Stadion. Both teams appear evenly matched heading into this clash and are set to cancel each other out for a draw.
Austria are coming off a 3-1 victory over the Faroe Islands in their previous outing in the qualifiers. They fell behind early in the first half but fought back before the break with Aleksander Dragovic, Christoph Baumgartner and Sasa Kalajdzic getting the goals.
It was the first win of the qualifiers for the Austrians after opening their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Scotland. The result also means that they are now unbeaten in their last eight matches across all competitions.
Franco Foda's men are driven by their attack and have scored five goals in their opening two matches in the qualifiers. The main problem is their attacking style, which often leaves them exposed defensively and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four matches.
Denmark showed the full strength of their attack in their last qualifying fixture as they claimed an 8-0 victory over Moldova. Kasper Dolberg and Mikkel Damsgaard both netted braces while Mathias Jensen, Robert Skov, Jens Larsen and Marcus Ingvartsen were also on target.
The result means Denmark still maintain a 100% record after claiming a 2-0 victory in Israel in their opening fixture in the qualifiers. They have suffered just one defeat in their last eight matches, a run that includes a 3-0 victory against Iceland.
Like Austria, Kasper Hjulmand’s men are driven by a solid attack as evidenced by their 10 goals in their opening two matches. They are also not particularly convincing at the back, especially on the road, and can count a 3-3 draw in Switzerland and a 2-2 stalemate in Kosovo among their recent away results.
How the bookies view it
Denmark are slight favourites among the bookies with Skybet offering 6/4 for an away win. A victory for Austria is valued at 21/10 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 23/10 by SBK.
There is little to separate both sides heading into Wednesday’s match and they are likely to battle to a draw.
Head to head
Denmark have a 3-1 advantage from four previous matches against Austria. There have been no draws between both teams while the Danes earned a 2-0 victory in their last meeting in a friendly in 2018.
Players to watch
Sasa Kalajdzic is the man tasked with leading the line for Austria and has scored three goals in two appearances in the qualifiers. The striker is backed at 13/5 by Paddy Power in the anytime goalscorer market.
Striker Kasper Dolberg is coming off a brace in his last appearance for Denmark and is likely be given the nod in attack on Wednesday. Unibet is offering 49/20 on the striker to score anytime.
Anything else catch the eye
With the quality in attack likely to be on display on Wednesday, a punt in the goals market should provide some rewards. Sport Nation is offering evens on both teams to score, over 2.5 goals is priced at 13/10 by Unibet while over 3.5 goals is valued at 18/5 by the same firm.
There is also likely to be goals in both halves which is priced at evens with William Hill while the Danes could be backed to score first at 20/21 with Betfred.
This World Cup match between Austria and Denmark will be played on Mar 31, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Austria vs Denmark prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
