NORTH MACEDONIA kick off their first ever game at a major tournament when they entertain Austria in Hungary on Sunday and they might not be the no-hopers portrayed by the bookies.
Igor Angelovski's side have been seriously written off against one of the more traditional names in Europe, but it's still an Austria side who haven't qualified for a World Cup since Scotland were last there in 1998.
True, they have qualified for a couple of European Championships since then, but one they co-hosted and qualified automatically and on both occasions, they failed to get out of their group.
So while the North Macedonians may be the new boys on the block and are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, they are far from hopeless. Just ask Germany who they beat 2-1 in Duisberg – the first time they had lost a European Championship home qualifier for 20 years. They warmed up for the Finals with thumping wins over Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan and drew with Slovenia. They are no mugs.
Austria go into the Finals not exactly brimming with confidence with a manager, Franco Foda, that their fans want out and a poor start to their World Cup campaign where they were thumped 4-0 at home by Denmark and drew with Scotland.
How the bookies view it
Austria are clear odds-on favourites with 4/6 with Betfred about the best price available on them. The Balkan nation can be backed at a huge 53/10 with Tonybet and the draw is 13/5 with Unibet.
Recent head to heads
The sides met in the group qualifiers for Euro 2020 and Austria won both games – 2-1 in Vienna below and they impressed in a 4-1 win in Skopje.
Players to watch
Austria striker Marko Arnautovic might play his football in China these days, but he has 28 goals in 88 caps and is always a threat for the Austrians. He'll fancy his chances with BetVictor at 17/10 to score anytime.
Captain Goran Pandev will win his 120th cap here, but he's 37 now. Napoli starlet Eljif Elmas has scored in each of his last three games for his country including that famous winner in Germany and is 7/1 with Betfred to score in Budapest.
Anything else catch the eye?
Putting the house on odds-on shots Austria is asking for trouble especially with a lack of belief they carry into these Finals. They still have the likes of new Real Madrid signing David Alaba in the squad, but it's hard to see them as bankers.
The Macedonians are well-organised and with games coming up against Ukraine and the Netherlands have probably earmarked this as a game where they must get a point at least.
North Macedonia have netted in 14 of their last 15 games and the 10/11 with Betfred for them just to score looks a solid investment. They will get chances and they won't sit back.
And the 27/20 with SportNation for either a Macedonian win or a draw looks value too if the outright win is too much of a long shot.
This Euro 2020 match between Austria and North Macedonia will be played on Jun 13, 2021 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Austria vs North Macedonia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
