Austria vs Estonia

Austria’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign continues at the TGW Arena as they square off against Baltic outsiders Estonia.

After missing out on the 2022 World Cup, Austria seemingly have no intention of skipping another major tournament, as evidenced by their emphatic 4-1 home win over Azerbaijan to kick things off in Group F. Starting a European Championship qualifying campaign on the front foot for the first time since 2010 was the perfect way for Austria to undo last summer’s underwhelming relegation from the UEFA Nations League A. Ralf Rangnick may have overseen a clear-cut triumph over Azerbaijan last time out, yet a sixth consecutive competitive game without a clean sheet overshadowed an otherwise impressive showing. Estonia’s visit to Linz could be a perfect opportunity for Austria to register a first competitive clean sheet since June 2020, having won both previous H2Hs ‘to nil.’

Meanwhile, Estonia’s pursuit of a first-ever European Championship qualification as an independent nation begins amid the team’s indifferent three-game form in 2023 (W1, D1, L1). Each of those three matches featured under 2.5 goals, suggesting the visitors could avoid another catastrophe in Euro qualifying after finishing the last cycle with a single point and a -24 goal difference (GF:2, GA:26). Interestingly, scoring has not been an issue for Estonia under manager Thomas Haberli, as they netted five goals in six 2022 World Cup qualifiers (W1, D1, L4). That was a noticeable improvement on their paltry scoring record in Euro 2020 qualifiers, though they failed to get on the scoresheet in a 1-0 loss to Hungary in the build-up to this clash.