Austria come into their first major tournament finals since Euro 2016 whilst this is the first time that North Macedonia have ever qualified for the finals of any major competition. They will both be looking to get off to a good start in Group C where they will also face the likes of Holland and Ukraine.
Franco Foda’s side come into this tournament ranked 23rd in the FIFA World Rankings compared to North Macedonia’s rank of 62nd place. Austria boasts talents such as David Alaba of Real Madrid, Marcel Sabitzer and Konrad Laimer on RB Leipzig, as well as former West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic. North Macedonia’s most notable players are former Champions League winner Goran Pandev, as well as Napoli and Levante stars Elif Elmas and free-kick specialist Enis Bardhi.
Austria to Win and BTTS – 10/3
According to the Betting Hub App, there is a 54.8% chance when looking back at the current season that both teams will score in this match, but, in their last five results, Austria have been involved in two matches of which both teams have scored, in a 3-1 win against the Faroe Islands, as well as a 2-2 draw with Scotland, whilst their opponents have drawn 1-1 with Slovenia, earned a famous 2-1 win against Germany and lost 3-2 away at Romania.
In terms of their head-to-head records, Austria beat North Macedonia twice in the qualifiers for Euro 2020, winning 4-1 away from home as a goal from Valentino Lazaro, a brace by Marko Arnautovic and an own goal by Egzon Bejtulai sealed the outcome. The last time these to met the outcome was much more straightforward than the scoreline suggests, as Austria won 2-1 thanks to strikes from David Alaba and Stefan Lainer sealed the outcome, with Vlatko Stojanovski scoring a 93rd minute consolation goal.
Over 2.5 Goals – 5/4
Over 2.5 goals has a 70% possibility when taking into account each sides’ last matches, due to Austria’s results against Scotland and the Faroe Islands as mentioned above, which saw Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic score three of their five goals, as well as the fact that they were thumped 4-0 by Denmark last March.
North Macedonia thumped Kazakhstan 4-0 last time out via goals from Ezgjan Alioski, Ivan Trichkovski, Milan Ristovski and Darko Churlinov. They also beat Germany and Liechtenstein 2-1 and 5-0, as well as being involved in a 3-2 defeat to Romania.