Austria v North Macedonia betting tips: Austria form gives debutants hope
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Preview and odds for Sunday’s match
Austria and North Macedonia came through the same qualifying group to reach Euro 2020 and meet again but this time in Bucharest.
North Macedonia are appearing at a major tournament for the first time and will be determined to make an impact in their opener ahead of facing Ukraine and the Netherlands.
The Group C match is live on ITV and kicks off at 5pm as we highlight a few potential Austria v North Macedonia betting tips.
Austria v North Macedonia match odds
Austria did the double over this weekend’s opponents in qualifying so it is little surprise they are the 4/6 favourites to come out on top once again.
Their recent performances have given reason for Austrian fans to be concerned, though. Coach Franco Foda’s reputation as being overly defensive was enhanced by their failure to score in their two warm-up games, which were a 1-0 defeat against England and a 0-0 draw with Slovakia.
They also made a shaky start to World Cup qualifying in March when they twice conceded equalisers in a 2-2 draw with Scotland, had to come from behind to beat the Faroe Islands 3-1 and were then thrashed 4-0 at home by Denmark when they failed to manage a shot on target.
North Macedonia are unbeaten in four games, including a stunning 2-1 victory away to Germany in the World Cup qualifiers in March, so may sense another upset at 19/4 while the draw is 12/5.
Austria v North Macedonia head-to-head
Austria proved they have the beating of North Macedonia in qualifying, starting with a 4-1 win in the away game in June 2019.
North Macedonia took an 18th-minute lead through Martin Hinteregger’s own goal but Valentino Lazaro levelled before the break and two second-half goals from Marko Arnautovic – one of which was a penalty – put the visitors in control.
Austria won the reverse fixture 2-1, with David Alaba and Stefan Lainer scoring early in each half before Vlatko Stojanovski’s late consolation.
Austria to win and both teams to score for a third time can be backed at 17/5 while North Macedonia are 31/20 to again score exactly one goal.
Previous XI
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Ristovski, Musliu, Ristevski, Nikolov, Kostadinov, Spirovski, Elmas, Alioski, Trickovski, Pandev.
Key battles
Austria’s Alaba is the class act on paper but finding the best position for the Bayern Munich man in the national team has proved problematic for Foda.
Arnautovic offers a goal threat but playing in China may mean he struggles with a step up in quality, with the former West Ham and Stoke man 16/5 to open the scoring.
North Macedonia captain Goran Pandev (pictured above) turns 38 next month but grabbed the goal which secured their place at the finals and was also on target in the win against Germany. It would be fitting if he scored their first goal at the finals and he is 9/1 in the first goalscorer odds.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
