Serbia vs Austria Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Serbia did exactly what was expected of them in midweek when they comfortably beat Moldova 3-0 away from home, taking their tally to four points from two games, thanks to goals from Kostic, Ivanovic, and Tadic. It was Tadic who was the standout performer though, assisting the first two goals from the right of a front three before netting one himself to cap off a man of the match performance.

This followed on from Serbia’s 2-2 draw with Republic of Ireland in the opening qualifying match, extending their unbeaten streak to six games. Four of these have been victories, and they’re looking to make up for their dismal Euro 2016 qualifying campaign which saw them finish 2nd from bottom and have three points deducted from them.

World Cup qualification is rather more difficult than European Championships. Only the top spot in each group gets automatic qualification, with the runners up potentially playing a playoff and anything below that missing out. Serbia have big competition from the likes of Wales, Republic of Ireland and Austria. This makes this a very important clash for both sides hopes of making it to Russia.

Austria started their qualifying campaign off with a rather unconvincing 2-1 win in Georgia, and midweek saw Marko Arnautovic salvage a point for Austria as he scored two equalisers in a 2-2 draw against Wales.

This certainly isn’t the best start to qualifying, and it follows on from the dismal Euro 2016 campaign, which saw them lose to Hungary and Iceland and draw with Portugal to finish bottom of their group and make their way home early on.

Serbia have won four of their last six and are looking a much better side than the disappointing performances from the last couple of years. Austria, on the other hand, have lost five of their last ten and still look to be suffering from the disappointment they incurred in France.

Serbia have won both of their previous meetings with Austria, and I expect more of the same here. They have looked far more convincing than Austria so far, and odds of 23/20 for a Serbia Win look good value to me. I’m going for a 2-1 correct score prediction at 17/2 as well.