Austria vs Republic of Ireland predictions: Posch to punish visitors in 8/1 bet builder
Jamie Griffith
Austria are unbeaten in the Nations League, winning two and drawing the other two of their four games
Ireland lost their opener but won their next match and have drawn the last two
Both teams have scored in all four of Austria’s games
Austria are leading the way in Nations League Group B3, sitting three points clear of Kosovo and Ireland. With the Irish up next for Austria and basement boys Israel to follow, Ralf Rangnick’s side will be confident they can secure promotion to League A.
Ireland will not go down without a fight, however, and they head into Saturday’s Linz showdown knowing they can trouble these opponents, having held them to a 2-2 draw in Dublin.
The latest Austria v Republic of Ireland odds are available at LiveScore Bet
Key Stats
Austria have lost only two of their last 13 games
Ireland have been defeated only once in 90 minutes in their last 12
Five of the Austrians’ last six matches have featured three or more goals
Ireland’s only win in four away days came against Israel at a neutral venue
Austria have won five straight home games, scoring 13 goals
Only Belarus (70) had committed more fouls than Austria’s 68 after the last round of Nations League fixtures
Recommended Bets
Bet Builder
Austria to win
Both teams to score
Stefan Posch over 0.5 shots on target
Score prediction
Team News
Experienced defender Maximilian Wober and key wingers Patrick Wimmer and Paul Wanner miss out for the hosts.
Joel Bagan, Killian Phillips and Owen Elding are among the names to drop out of the Ireland squad. Stoke midfielder Bosun Lawal and QPR’s Harvey Vale are back in the fray.
Need to know
Austria had to fight back from 2-0 down after a Troy Parrott brace in Dublin and Rangnick will expect a better start in this reverse fixture.
The German will hope for more from the defence in general, actually, with Austria going eight games without a clean sheet.
Prediction
Austria’s defensive fragility means there should be space for Ireland to exploit and a lively Linz affair seems likely.
A thriller at the level of October’s Dublin dust-up might not quite play out but there are still expected to be goals at both ends, with each team having found the net in five of Austria’s last six games as well as three of Ireland’s last five.
Despite their woes at the back, Austria still look the likelier winners. Only World Cup winners Spain and the team they beat, Argentina, have had the better of Rangnick’s men in 13 outings, and a sixth straight home win awaits.
They have attacking threats all over the pitch and one who can often go under the radar is versatile defender Stefan Posch, who seems to find opportunities to let fly regardless of whether he is playing at right-back or centre-back.
No Austrian has recorded more shots in this Nations League campaign than Posch’s seven and he may very well add to the two efforts he had on target in the reverse fixture.
