France v Austria
22 September 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Nations League
Pick France AH-1
Bookmaker bet365
Odds: 1.58 odds taken 0930 GMT, Wednesday 21st September
Thursday evening brings us the return of the Nations League and features this upcoming clash in League A/Group 1 between France and Austria at Stade de France with France keen to move themselves out of the relegation zone in Group 1 while 3rd placed Austria will no doubt be content to avoid defeat here which would see the visitors take another big step towards League A survival.
Table of Contents
France Preview – Can Les Bleus get it together?
It’s been a slow and sluggish start to this new Nations League campaign for Thursday night’s hosts, France, as the hosts have failed to win any of their opening four games in Group 1 and the home side have only picked up two points out of a possible 12 on offer so far, thus making this upcoming clash with Austria a ‘must win’ game for Les Bleus.
France therefore duly sit bottom of the group after managing to scrape together points in draws with Croatia and Austria, both in 1-1 stalemates and both away from home, but defeats on home soil to Denmark and Croatia have been big body blows to the current World Cup holders and they now find themselves battling against possible relegation down to League B.
Surely it’s just a matter of time though for France to start to click in this season’s Nations League competition as the bigger picture shows France have lost just three out of their last 24 matches across all competitions and with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Oliver Giroud amongst their attacking ranks, the hosts stand a decent chance of opening their account here on Thursday night.
Although France have suffered recent back to back defeats at home in the Nations League, overall form on home soil has been generally good as France have won four out of their last seven games in this format which includes wins against Netherlands, Germany, Croatia and Sweden.
In addition, France have also held the upper hand over Austria in previous encounters on home soil as Les Bleus have won each of the previous four meetings on the trot and look set to continue this trend at Stade de France.
Austria Preview – Can Austrians hold their own?
Austria have only fared marginally better than their upcoming hosts, France, as the visitors sit on four points and are just one place above their hosts in the Group 1 standings but an early and impressive 3-0 win away from home at Croatia in their opening group match handed Austria the perfect start to their Nations League campaign.
However, Austria have since experienced something of a wobble in their three subsequent group matches as they have been handed defeats by Denmark (home and away) in 2-1 and 2-0 losses respectively but they did manage to grind out a point in a 1-1 draw at home with Thursday’s opponents, France, at their Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
The bigger picture also shows Austria have been very hit and miss in terms of gaining wins on the international stage of late as the visitors have registered just four wins out of their last 12 matches across all competitions, two of which were recorded on home soil, while wins at Faroe Islands and Croatia have been their only highlights on the road for a while.
It’s a similar story when looking at Austria’s results away from home as the visitors have won just four of their last 12 outings on the road but this sequence also includes no fewer than seven defeats so the prospects of the visitors earning even a draw here look fairly slim.
In addition, Austria have also lost their last four visits on the trot in France.
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France v Austria
Key Facts – France v Austria Tip
- France have won 4 out of their last 7 home games in the Nations League
- Austria have won just 4 of their last 12 outings on the road overall
- France have won each of the last 4 meetings at home against Austria
France have made a slow and disappointing start to this Nations League campaign but the hosts possess too much quality to continue their poor run for much longer, and this upcoming fixture against Austria represents a golden opportunity for Didier Deschamps’s side to open their account in this group phase and condemn Austria to bottom place in Group 1.
The best betting odds for France v Austria
France to win: 1.36 at bet365
Draw: 4.75 at bet365
Austria to win: 7.50 at bet365
