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The first game in Group F takes place on June 14th at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, and it’s between Austria and Hungary. It’s the 11th game of Euro 2016, and the penultimate game in the opening round of fixtures. It’s an interesting game in that we’ve not seen much of either side in recent major tournaments, especially Hungary. This is, of course, a game steeped in history, and we have two real bitter rivals going head-to-head here.
Austria were the real surprise package of qualification, coming through what looked like a tough group with real ease. They won 9 of their 10 games in Group G, which contained Russia, Sweden, Montenegro, Liechtenstein and Moldova, so definitely not the easiest group to get out of, never mind remain undefeated in. Their path to dominance in Group G was down to one thing – their defence. The Austrians conceded 5 goals in their 10 games, two of those coming away from home in their 3-2 win over Montenegro. In fact, Austria only conceded one goal at home in the qualification campaign, which was in their 1-1 draw with Sweden. Austria scored 22 goals, with 7 of them coming from Marc Janko, and 4 from David Alaba and 3 from Marko Arnautovic. What’s interesting is that they get goals from all over. In their 5-0 win over Liechtenstein, they had 5 different goalscorers, so they’re a threat from everywhere.
As for Hungary, well, their qualification campaign was obviously not as impressive as Austria’s, but they made it out of a tight Group F, finishing in 3rd and qualified for the playoffs with 4 wins, 4 draws and two defeats. In Group F, Hungary scored 11 goals, and conceded 9, with the majority coming in their 4-3 defeat to Greece. Hungary almost made it through to Euro 2016 as the best 3rd-placed team, but missed out by a point to Turkey. So they were drawn against Norway, and went on to win 3-1 on aggregate, beating Norway in both legs, 1-0 and then 2-1. As you would expect looking at the stats, Hungary don’t have an out-and-out goalscorer, but they do get them from everywhere in the team. The real strength of this side is their defence, and it will definitely get tested in a tough Group F, that’s for sure.
There have been 135 meetings between the two teams, dating as far back as 1902. Austria have won 40 of them, Hungary have the upper-hand with 65 wins and there have been 30 draws. Amazingly, the last game between these old enemies came 10 years ago, which Hungary won 2-1. It was only a friendly, however, and the last time they met in a competitive game was actually 1985, which Hungary also won, this time 3-0 in qualifying for the 1986 World Cup.
Austria vs Hungary Match Betting Odds:
Austria: 1.73, 8/11, -137
Hungary: 5.0, 4/1, +400
Draw: 3.5, 5/2, +250
Austria vs Hungary Match Betting Tips:
I like Austria, make no mistake, they are a solid if unspectacular outfit, and they surprised everyone in qualifying. The problem is that do I want to be backing them at odds-against when they’re taking on a team like Hungary, who, again, are solid if unspectacular? Probably not. I think Austria are too short to make them worth backing against a Hungary side that will try and grind out a draw by the looks of things, but if you need to have a bet on the match outcome of the match, Austria (Draw no bet) is the play to cover your bases, as while I can’t see Hungary causing too much trouble to a stingy Austrian defence, they do have a knack for grinding out draws, as is evident from their qualification campaign, which featured just as many draws as there was wins.
I’m much more interested in the prop bets for this one, as I think there’s far more value to be had.
Austria vs Hungary Prop Bets:
There’s a part of me that would love to throw up a 0-0 prediction here, because there’s so many things pointing to this from qualifying. But correct score bets are tough to get up, and if someone snatches a quick goal, you have nothing left to barrack on for the remainder of the game. Anyway, Austria do look likely to get a goal here, even if it is just the one.
Instead, we’ll throw a little twist on an old favourite and go under 1.5 goals, because both sides are tight at the back, and I can see Hungary fighting for a draw. If you want to be a bit more cautious, get on under 2.5 goals, but I like the value of under 1.5, which covers us for a 1-0 and a 0-0. Make no mistake, this will be a real war of attrition between two old foes, and neither side will want to lose.
