For our Austria vs. Azerbaijan prediction, we're going for a 2-0 win for the home side.
Austria face Azerbaijan in a EURO 2024 qualifier on Friday night.
Austria are looking to qualify for a third successive European Championships after missing out on a World Cup place last time out.
Austria's World Cup qualifying campaign was a disappointing one having won five, drawn one and lost four of their ten games before eventually losing to Wales in the play-off round.
In the Nations League last summer things were even more disappointing with the Austrians winning one, drawing one and losing four of their six games albeit in a tough group containing France, Denmark and Croatia.
Austria appointed former Manchester United manager Ralph Rangnick in April of last year and they have shown some positive signs, particularly in beating Croatia 3-0 in the Nations League and Italy 2-0 in their most recent game.
Austria are sharing a group with Belgium, Sweden, Estonia and Azerbaijan so they should feel fairly confident of challenging for a 2nd place finish here. This game is a must-win as far as qualification is concerned and they shouldn't encounter too many issues.
Azerbaijan enter this game amidst a very strong run of form having won each of their last five matches on the bounce.
Despite not winning a single game in World Cup qualification, their Nations League campaign was much more successful having won each of their last three games against Belarus, Slovakia and Kazakhstan.
They will, then, hope that momentum carries them through what is a tricky EUROs qualification group here.
Their form away from home has been impressive of late having won each of their last three games on the road, with their most recent being a 3-1 win over North Macedonia.
Azerbaijan have never reached a major tournament as an independent nation and unfortunately that is unlikely to change here. They've lost three and drawn one of their four head-to-head games against Austria and that winless streak will almost certainly continue on Friday.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.
