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Austria national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Jun 20, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
Ernst-Happel-Stadion
Sweden national football team

Austria
2 - 0
Sweden

Baumgartner (81', 89')
Posch (12')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Preview: Austria vs. Sweden - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Austria and Sweden, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Austria will be aiming to remain top of Group F by gaining a positive result against Sweden on Tuesday.

The visitors have won one and lost one of their opening two qualifying games, leaving them four points behind their forthcoming opponents with a game in hand.


Match preview

Austria's Michael Gregoritsch celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on March 24, 2023© Reuters

As such, Tuesday's match at Ernst Happel Stadion represents a real opportunity for Austria to take a huge step towards qualifying for next summer's European Championship, which will be held within the borders of their neighbours Germany.

After dispatching Azerbaijan and Estonia in their opening two matches, Ralf Rangnick's side earned a creditable point with a 1-1 draw away to Belgium on Saturday, with Romelu Lukaku's second-half strike cancelling out Orel Mangala's own goal after 21 minutes.

The former Manchester United boss, who recently celebrated a year in charge of Das Team, will recognise that moving seven points clear of Sweden with only five games remaining for their opponents could be a gap too far to bridge should Austria be able to defeat them in Vienna.

Indeed, with two automatic qualification spots up for grabs to compete in Rangnick's home nation next summer, anything short of reaching their third consecutive European Championship would be regarded as a major disappointment for this improving Austrian outfit.

Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring their third goal with Mattias Svanberg on March 27, 2023© Reuters

Sweden, on the other hand, could be in real danger of missing out on qualifying for Europe's premier international tournament for the first time since Euro 1996 should they fall to a second defeat in three matches on Tuesday.

The Blue and Yellow will almost certainly not receive a second chance of reaching Germany via the playoffs due to their dismal performance in the most recent Nations League campaign, which saw Janne Andersson's side relegated to the third tier after taking only four points from six games.

In truth, it was a little surprising to see the 60-year-old hold onto his job, especially having also missed out on qualifying for the recent World Cup in Qatar.

The former IFK Norrkoping boss was impressed with his side's performance when beating New Zealand 4-1 in a friendly on Friday, but that will count for nothing if they can not back it up by at least avoiding defeat against Austria in a pivotal encounter.

Austria Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Austria form (all competitions):


Sweden Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Sweden form (all competitions):



Team News

Austria coach Ralf Rangnick on March 24, 2023© Reuters

Real Madrid star David Alaba made his 100th cap for Austria in the 1-1 draw against Belgium last time out, with the 30-year-old set to captain his nation from the heart of the hosts' defence.

Given that his team earned a hugely valuable point against the favourites to win Group F, Rangnick may opt to name the same starting XI, meaning Marcel Sabitzer may have to be patient from the bench once again.

Sweden, meanwhile, should welcome Alexander Isak back to their team after resting the Newcastle United striker for the friendly win against New Zealand on Friday.

Likewise, Dejan Kulusevski, Victor Lindelof and Emil Forsberg should all be fresh after not featuring in the 4-1 victory, which saw Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga come off the bench to score his third international goal.


Austria possible starting lineup:
A. Schlager; Posch, Lienhart, Alaba, Wober; Baumgartner, Seiwald, X. Schlager, Wimmer; Arnautovic, Gregoritsch

Sweden possible starting lineup:
Olsen; Sundgren, Lindelof, Starfelt, Gudmundsson; Kulusevski, Olsson, Svanberg, Forsberg; Quaison, Isak


SM words green background

We say: Austria 2-2 Sweden

Both of these teams have been scoring and conceding plenty of goals lately, so we can envisage an entertaining encounter in Vienna.

Sweden will know that a defeat could potentially be fatal in terms of their hopes of qualifying for next summer's European Championship, but we believe they have enough about them to avoid defeat, with a share of the spoils potentially suiting both managers.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Austria vs Sweden

Austria
51.7%
Draw
31.9%
Sweden
16.4%
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

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Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

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1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

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Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

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Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

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1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

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Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


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