Sports Writer
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International football returns this weekend, with one of the home nations trying to secure a spot in a qualifying final. For this week’s betting tips, we are focusing on the semi-final matchup between Wales and Austria at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Wales were handed a tough group for their World Cup qualifiers. The Red Dragons were placed with the number one ranked nation - Belgium - and they only fell to one defeat during the entire group stage. They sat behind Belgium in the table, pairing them with Austria, and a possible matchup with Scotland if they make the final.
Some good news for Wales, Gareth Bale has trained ahead of the fixture, and despite injury doubts, the captain looks set to play in Wales’ biggest game of the year.
Wales’ opponents in the semi-finals are Austria. The Austrians have already impressed in the calendar year by taking European champions Italy to penalties on their route to the final, and now they have a place in the World Cup qualifying semi-finals.
In terms of the Austrian squad, they seem to be at full strength ahead of the Wales game. Integral players such as Marko Arnautovic, Marcel Sabitzer, and David Alaba are all fit for the fixture, and they’ll look to be the problem-causers against Wales.
These two have some recent history regarding World Cup qualifiers. During the qualifying stage for Russia 2016, these two were in the same group - Wales picking up four points out of a possible six in the two fixtures with the Austrians.
However, the two sides are very different entering this one. Wales are looking to rebound after exiting Euro 2020 in the round-of-16, and rectify their poor World Cup record (not competing in a World Cup since 1958). While Austria are looking to build on their resilient showing in the Euros and make their first World Cup since 1998.
This game should be a tight one. Austria has proven they can go toe-to-toe with Europe’s best (taking Italy to extra time last summer), while Wales has shown that with the right atmosphere, they can pull off the shock result. It is a risk, but we say this one is level after 90 minutes. You can back this at 2/1 with Bet365.
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