Austria will be looking to end a disappointing qualifying campaign on a high when they face Moldova in their final Group F fixture on Monday. The Moldovans have been the whipping boys of the group and Austria are expected to ease to a comfortable win.
It has been a disappointing qualifying campaign for Austria, who have claimed just four wins from their nine matches in Group F. They are seven points behind second place Scotland with one match left and are only playing for pride on Monday.
Austria have been plagued by inconsistency throughout the qualifiers and have been beaten four times in their nine matches. They attempted a late rally, claiming two wins from their last three matches but the damage had already been done.
Manager Frank Foda will be aiming to end the campaign on a positive note with their final fixture coming on home soil. They will be targeting a similar performance that saw them claim a 4-2 victory over Israel in their previous outing on Friday.
Moldova have been the whipping boys of Group F and have failed to secure a win from their nine qualifying matches. They have been beaten eight times in that run and are set to finish bottom of the group.
Roberto Bordin’s men travel to Austria off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Scotland in their previous qualifying fixture. They were second best throughout the encounter and could barely muster any attacking threat.
Moldova generally have a poor record among Europe’s elite and will have to go back to 2013 for their last win in World Cup qualifying. They are have one of the worst defences in these qualifiers with 26 goals conceded in just nine matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Austria as overwhelming favourites at 1/11 with SBK while an unlikely victory for Moldova is valued at 75/1 by betfair. MansionBet is offering odds of 11/1 for a draw.
Head to head
Austria have a 6-1 advantage from seven previous matches against Moldova. They claimed a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture in September with Christophe Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic getting the goals.
Players to watch
Marko Arnautovic has impressed for Austria lately with three goals in his last four international matches. The Bologna striker was also on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 4/6 by betway to find the net on Monday.
Given Moldova’s struggles in attack, Austria will be targeting a shutout. Martin Hinteregger and Philipp Lienhart are likely to continue in central defence and can guide the team to a clean sheet at 2/7 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
After scoring four goals against Israel, Austria will be targeting a comfortable victory on Monday and could be backed in the -2 handicap market at 5/6 with bet365. The Austrians could also be tipped to win both halves at 10/11 with William Hill.
Marko Arnautovic opened the scoring in the win over Israel and could be backed to score the first goal here at 5/2 with Betfred.
This World Cup match between Austria and Moldova will be played on Nov 15, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Austria vs Moldova prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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