Austria vs Azerbaijan

Austria’s road to redemption following an abysmal 2022 begins at the TGW Arena as they entertain Azerbaijan in the opening round of Euro 2024 qualifying Group F.

Seeking a third consecutive qualification for the European Championship finals after a failed attempt to reach the 2022 World Cup, Austria will be looking to build on back-to-back friendly wins ‘to nil’ down the tail-end of 2022. Despite losing their last three competitive matches by a two-goal margin, ‘Das Team’ come into proceedings as substantial betting favorites for a good reason. Except for a goalless draw in 2005 in World Cup qualifiers, the Austrians have got the better of Azerbaijan via multi-goal margins in their remaining three competitive H2Hs. That’s perhaps the only consolation for Ralf Rangnick’s side after a dire run of four points from a possible 18 condemned Austria to relegation from UEFA Nations League Group A1 last summer.

In the meantime, visiting Azerbaijan strung together five consecutive international triumphs down the final stretch of the last calendar year, bolstering the nation’s hopes of advancing to a major tournament for the first time as an independent country. However, it’s worth noting that none of those five wins came against sides ranked inside FIFA’s top 50. Moreover, before bettering Slovakia 2-1 on their most recent competitive road trip, Azerbaijan had gone winless on their previous eight travels in all competitions (D3, L5), failing to get on the scoresheet five times during that stretch. But including friendlies, their last three away games have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring, highlighting the potential for a high-scoring affair. Adding to this sentiment, their two most recent international duels against Austria have featured 3+ goals.