Kick-off: 1945, 25/03/2021
Stadium: Hampden Park
TV: Sky Sports
Austria have been on an upward curve for some time now and look sure to provide Scotland with a tough test in their opening World Cup qualifier.
Steve Clarke’s side are unbeaten in their last six matches at Hampden Park, though, so this has all the makings of being a close encounter.
We reckon the value lies in going for a draw at 12/5 for our first Scotland vs Austria prediction.
A Look At Scotland’s Betting Odds
Scotland will no doubt still be on a high from reaching their first major tournament since 1998 when booking a place at Euro 2020 in dramatic fashion.
After finishing a distant third behind Belgium and Russia in their pool, the Scots enjoyed penalty shoot-out wins over Israel and Serbia in the play-offs.
There was no disgrace in finishing second to the Czech Republic in a Nations League pool which also featured Israel and Slovakia.
Clarke’s men started that campaign strongly before closing with a couple of frustrating 1-0 defeats on the road following the Serbia thriller in Belgrade.
This represents another decent chance of progressing, as Denmark are comfortably the weakest of the top seeds in 10 European groups.
“It could have been a tougher draw, but I think it’s also a dangerous draw,” commented Clarke on BBC Sport Scotland.
“The Danes and the Austrians have got a really good record recently and obviously they’re in pot one and pot two for a reason.
“It means they’ve been consistently better than us over the past few years, so we have to be careful of them.”
Israel, Faroe Islands and Moldova make up the numbers, so kicking off by sharing the spoils here would be a solid enough start.
Looking at the Scotland vs Austria odds, we like 15/4 for the scores to be level at half-time and full-time.
A Look At Austria’s Betting Odds
Austria finished second to Poland in their Euro 2020 pool, with just one goal scored in two close encounters with the table toppers.
Elsewhere, there were four home wins over North Macedonia, Slovenia, Israel and Latvia, plus two away victories and a couple of defeats on the road.
The Nations League brought more success, with Das Team heading a B-level group in front of Norway, Romania and Northern Ireland.
There were fears that head coach Franco Foda would be without 19 Germany-based players for this trip because of quarantine regulations.
But a decision late on Friday evening ensured Austria will have the likes of Bayern Munich defender David Alaba and RB Leipzig forward Marcel Sabitzer available.
Scotland defender Declan Gallagher insisted: “We were always focused on them playing their best team. We were never thinking about them playing a weakened team.”
Lorient front man Adrian Grbic scored in all three November internationals and 4/1 for him to break the deadlock here completes our Scotland vs Austria betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
Israel 1-0 SCOTLAND
AUSTRIA 1-1 Norway – Adrian Grbic
Head-to-head: Austria 0-1 Scotland, Austria 2-2 Scotland, Scotland 0-2 Austria, Scotland 1-1 Austria, Austria 3-2 Scotland
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