Austria v Northern Ireland: Nations League predictions, free betting tips & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Austria v Northern Ireland in the Nations League on Sunday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football, 7.45pm Sunday

Best bet

Austria & under 3.5 goals
1pt 20-23 BoyleSports

Team news

Austria
Marcel Sabitzer missed the clash with Romania but could return to the first-team fold.

Northern Ireland
Craig Cathcart (groin) is out and Ian Baraclough is expected to ring the changes after defeat to Slovakia.

Match preview

Northern Ireland will surely have precious little left in the tank in Vienna on Sunday and Austria should prove too strong for them.

Ian Baraclough's men gave everything for two hours on Thursday night in their Euro 2020 playoff showdown with Slovakia and looked utterly broken when they came up short.

To have to pick themselves up just three days later for a Nations League tie in another country must be soul-destroying.

If we know anything about Northern Ireland it's that they don't go down without a fight but this looks a forlorn hope, especially as Group B1 pacesetters Austria need to keep their foot on the gas to sustain their promotion push.

The short match odds about the hosts are of no interest and the prices suggest Northern Ireland could get hammered, something that rarely happens these days.

When these sides met a month ago in Belfast it was all Austria. Baraclough's boys managed only one shot on target in a dire affair which the visitors won 1-0.

Northern Ireland are bottom of the section with a solitary point, while Austria can boast 15 outfield players from the Bundesliga and come into the game in good form under Franco Foda.

Thursday's 3-0 friendly success over Luxembourg is an irrelevance because Foda will play a very different side at the Ernst-Happel Stadium.

Austria have won four matches in a row, all of them featuring three or fewer goals, and this could be another.

Key stat

Austria have won four games in a row, all featuring three or fewer goals.

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