Not many football fans enjoy the breaks for international matches, but we have some great clashes in the UEFA Nations League. For starters, Austria host Serbia for a spot in League A.
Austria have played a great campaign in the tournament in a pretty tough group with Norway and Slovenia, earning themselves the right to fight for promotion to League A. The team only conceded one loss in the six rounds and finished second in their group.
Ralf Rangnick's team played incredible football on home turf, scoring as many as 10 goals against only two conceded. They even beat Norway by an impressive 5-1. These results will surely motivate the team to get a good advantage ahead of the rematch in Serbia.
After a relatively disappointing showing at the European Championships, Serbia's poor form has carried over to the Nations League. The Orlovi only won one game, but that was enough to not send them straight to the lower league. The Serbian national team's main problem was a lack of goals, as they scored only three in their six matches.
How the bookies view it: Serbia don't stand a chance
The bookmakers predict an easy match for the hosts, giving them a significant advantage in the odds. You can pick Austria at 3/4, the draw at 12/5 or Serbia at 4/1.
Recent head to head: Orlovi with the H2H advantage
Austria and Serbia have a rich history with each other, having met at several World Cups. Serbia lead by three wins to one, but their last official clash was back in 2017. Instead, the teams met in a friendly nearly a year ago and Austria won 2-1.
Players to watch: Baumgartner knows how to punish Serbia
Christoph Baumgartner was the most effective player in Ralf Rangnick's squad in the group stage and will certainly have a major role to play in the two clashes with Serbia. The Austrian has scored two goals and assisted for three more in his last four games for the team. He also scored a goal and provided the assist for the other in the friendly match between the two teams in June 2024.
Probable line-ups
Austria: Pentz, Prass, Alaba, Lienhart, Mwene, Wimmer, Seiwald, Schmid, Sabitzer, Baumgartner, Arnautovic
Serbia: Rajkovic, Babic, Erakovic, Veljkovic, Birmancevic, Lukic, Maksimovic, Topic, Samardzic, Jovic, Vlahovic
Anything else catch the eye?
While the majority of Austria's recent home performances ended with goals in their own net too, we expect a different outcome this time. Serbia are no longer the strong competitive side we remember from a few years ago. And with a bunch of absent players for the first leg, we don't expect them to have too many chances.
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ivan Ilic are both out for this match, joining Nikola Milenkovic, Aleksa Terzic, Strahinja Pavlovic and Andrija Zivkovic on the sidelines. Overall, a considerable percentage of Serbia's core squad will not be available. Betting on Austria to win feels like one of the safest options on Thursday. Serbia conceded 2+ goals in two out of their three away games in the group stage, so this is also a solid option to consider.
This UEFA Nations League match between Austria and Serbia will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Austria vs Serbia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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