Georgia – Austria

Georgia and Austria will square off in Group D of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The group is very evenly matched, also featuring sides like Ireland, Wales or Serbia.

Georgia is not looking too good ahead of these World Cup qualifiers. The hosts decided to change the guard a couple of years ago, calling up a lot of young players and as a result they were dreadful in the Euro qualifiers. Georgia claimed 3 wins and 7 defeats in 10 matches, with two of those wins coming against Gibraltar. They pretty much lost every match against a professional team in that group and continued to look poor in the following friendlies. The only bright light for Georgia recently has been a shock 1-0 win in Spain before the Euros – but as impressive as that was, it was just one match. It`s worth noting that they recently hired Vladimir Weiss as their manager.

Austria qualified en fanfare for Euro 2016 and they were expected to have a good tournament, but the Austrians ended up as one of the worst sides in the competition. They claimed just one point, against Portugal, in a match in which they did not play well and Ronaldo missed a penalty. It remains to be seen if Austria will regain the rhythm showed in the Euro qualifiers.

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Fortunately for the visitors, team news are great. They have a healthy squad ahead of this match, which features all their big names like Alaba, Janko, Junuzovic, Arnautovic, Harnik and the list can go on.

Austria can`t really afford to miss out on the three points in Georgia, considering how tight this group will probably be. Out of Ireland, Serbia and Wales, at least one or two will win here, so Austria really does not want to start with a handicap.

Despite their poor showing in the Euros, the Austrians remain a very good side and their recent record in qualifiers is absolutely amazing. I believe they will be able to win this game, their victory also being facilitated by the fact that Georgia is rather poor and inexperienced.

The Georgians looked completely overwhelmed during the last 2 years in most of the matches they played against teams of Austia’s caliber, or even weaker – both home and away. I doubt much has changed in space of a few months – one year, even if a new manager is in charge. In my opinion, Georgia is not a side which is prone to upset the odds, even if they got that crazy win in Spain before the Euros.

My tip is Austria to win with a 0,25 asian handicap, taking a little security with this bet in case the hosts snatch a draw. Prediction: Georgia – Austria 0-2.

Pick: Austria (-0,25 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.70 @ Sbobet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 4.90
Event date: 5 September