Estonia - Austria predictions and free betting tips [16/11/2023]

On Thursday, 16th November, within the framework of the 9th round of the Euro-2024 qualifying tournament, the Estonian national team will face the Austrian national team. The hosts have only gained one point out of a possible eighteen and have completely failed this campaign, whilst the red and whites have guaranteed themselves a finish among the top two and will compete for first place in the group.

Predicted Line-ups

Estonia: Hein; Pikk, Klavan, Tamm, Sinyavskiy; Tunjov, Kait, Vetkal, Sappinen; Zenjov, Anier.
Austria: A. Schlager; Lainer, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Ulmer; Sabitzer, Laimer, Grillitsch; Baumgartner, Arnautovic, Gregoritsch.

Stadium

The match will be held in Tallinn at the Le Coq Arena.

Estonia

In Group F of the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament, Estonia is not performing at its best and is at the bottom of the league table with 1 draw and 5 losses. Having already been knocked out of the pursuit of a top-two finish, the Baltic side have gained their only point in June in Azerbaijan (1:1). In their last official matches, they performed poorly, losing to Sweden (0:5), Belgium (5:0) and Azerbaijan (0:2). In October, Estonia also played out a draw with Thailand in a home friendly match (1:1). However, the Estonians are not yet condemned to failure: the hosts can get a ticket to the European Championship thanks to the Nations League playoffs, where, based on ratings, there are only four teams remaining from a higher-ranked division. Hence, the 12th ticket to the continental championship would go to the best team from League D, which Haberli's charges currently are.

Nevertheless, the Estonians haven't tasted victory in eight consecutive matches since their sensational 1:0 victory over Finland in January this year. The team lineup is missing experienced defenders Tamm (Botev Plovdiv, 55 matches) and Mets (St. Pauli, 89 matches), as well as midfielders Miller (Flora, 29 matches) and Puri (Shamrock Rovers, 19 matches). The forward Sappinen (Hapoel Jerusalem, 12 goals in 53 matches) is still unavailable due to injury, while the team roster is almost unknown to the wider public. Among the somewhat experienced players are midfielders Käit (Rapid Bucharest, 8 goals in 53 matches) and Vassiljev (Flora, 26 goals in 155 matches), as well as forward Anier (Lee Man, 22 goals in 90 matches).

Austria

Having participated in the last two European Championships, Austria has already secured its place in the next continental championship. The question now is whether the team can secure first place in the group, which, in the event of falling into the top five, will provide it with a comfortable position in the final draw. With no defeats in the first five rounds (4 victories and 1 draw), Ralf Rangnick's men suffered their only setback in October of this year, losing at home to Belgium (2:3). Just three days later, the Austrians won in Azerbaijan (0:1) courtesy of a penalty converted by Marcel Sabitzer and now hold second place in the group, trailing the leader by a single point. After the end of the qualifiers, the visitors will finish 2023 with a friendly match against Germany, slated for 21st November.

Austria will have to do without their key forward Arnautović (Inter, 36 goals in 110 matches) due to injury, but David Alaba has managed to recuperate in time. Defenders Posch (Bologna, 26 matches) and Trauner (Feyenoord, 10 matches) are also forced to sit out the November gathering. The German Bundesliga is widely represented in the team line-up – as many as 14 players, including Wöber (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Schlager (RB Leipzig), Seiwald (RB Leipzig), Laimer (Bayern Munich), Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Baumgartner (RB Leipzig) and Gregoritsch (SC Freiburg). The latter three are the most productive Austrian players in this qualifying tournament, scoring 4, 3, and 3 goals, respectively. Guido Burgstaller came off the bench in the last round for the final 10 minutes and was sent off.

Head to Head

In the first match against Estonia, which took place in March, the Austrians had a tough time but ultimately secured a hard-fought 2:1 victory, thanks to a goal by Michael Gregoritsch in the 88th minute.

Match prediction: Estonia - Austria

Austria is still eager to snatch first place in the group out of Belgium's hands, so Rangnick's side can't afford to slip up in Tallinn. With Alaba's return, the red and whites shouldn't face too many problems with the hosts, who are without a win in their last eight matches and have only one point to their name. My prediction is the visitors' victory with a handicap -1.5.