Austria vs Hungary Preview

Austria will look to start the Euro off on a high when they face Hungary in Group F

EURO 2016 Group F | Tuesday 14 June | Stade Matmut-Atlantique | 18:00

Group F kicks off with Austria and Hungary going head-to-head for the first points on offer in the group. Austria were unbeaten in qualifying and include English Premier League and Bundesliga title winners in their ranks as they prepare to tackle Hungary. The Hungarians, however, will have a point to prove in the tournament, showing that they are more than just 350/1 outsiders.

To Win (90mins)

Austria 7/10

Draw 5/2

Hungary 9/2

Austria

Austria sailed through the qualifying stages unbeaten, despite being drawn against tricky opponents like Russia, Sweden and Montenegro. 

Nine straight qualifying wins, including home and away victories over Russia, suggested that Austria’s status as one of Europe’s underachievers might be reaching its end. 

They’ve certainly got a good enough team to be competitive, with Bayern Munich utility man David Alaba the beating heart of a very solid team.

It’s hard to suss out Alaba’s best position on the field, but he has proved time and time again that he can operate just as good anywhere on the pitch.

Austria do have other big-name players, though, such as Marc Janko, Marko Arnautovic and captain Christian Fuchs. All of which, pose a massive threat for Hungary. 

They certainly have players that have played at the highest level and possess two UEFA Champions League winners in Arnautovic (Inter Milan) and Alaba (Bayern Munich). 

Fuchs will hope to achieve the same sort of miracle that saw Leicester win the Premier League, when he captains his team at the Euros.

Hungary

Hungary, returning to a major tournament for the first time in 30 years, will look to cause an unlikely upset in Group F when they come up against Austria, Portugal and Iceland. 

The Magical Magyars made it to the Euro’s after winning both legs of their play-off against Norway. 

Their record in the qualifying group stage was four wins, four draws and two defeats. 

Take into consideration that they didn’t have the hardest group either, with Finland, Faroe Islands and Greece all part of their qualifying group.

Their captain – Balazs Dzsudzsak – is by far their most accomplished attacking player, and their ability to score goals at the Euro might be dependent on him making some outstanding individual plays out on the wing.

He hasn’t been at his very best since leaving PSV Eindhoven in 2011, but he’s still the man most likely to make something happen for the Hungarians.

Probable line-ups:

Austria: 4-2-3-1

Almer; Klein, Dragovic, Wimmer, Fuchs; Baumgartlinger, Alaba; Arnautovic, Junuzovic, Harnik; Janko

Hungary: 4-2-3-1

Kiraly; Kadar, Guzmics, Juhasz, Fiola; Elek, Nagy; Dzsudzsak, Gera, Stieber; Szalai

Betting Verdict: Austria Win Handicap (-1) (19/10)

Austria were one of the most fascinating teams of the qualification group stages. They stormed their group and they have the ability to storm this one too. Funny enough, their very first international match was against Hungary, where they won 5-0. Whether or not that scoreline could be repeated, only time will tell. The Austrians have great firepower to go very far in the tournament and are well worth a cheeky tenner on them to reach the semi finals of the tournament at a decent price of 5/1. But for now, my money is on Austria to win this match on the Handicap at 19/10. Yours should be too!

Written by Jesse Nagel.