Ukraine vs. Austria Prediction: Euro 2020 Betting Odds
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Jeremy Perry
In the grand scheme of things, both teams would feel like their tournaments were a success if they finish second and advance.
Ukraine vs. Austria Betting Odds
Date: Monday, June 21st, 2021 – 12:00 PM ET
Location: Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands
With nerves and intensity being at a high in this game, it’s anybody’s game to lose. Let’s take a look and find out who holds the upper hand heading into this matchup.
Ukraine
Ukraine kicked off their tournament with a tough loss to the Netherlands, though they were able to battle back after falling behind 2-0 early on. They followed that up with a smooth victory over North Macedonia 2-1 in their most recent game, giving them motivation and confidence as they move forward. This team has actually only lost one game in their past eight with that singular loss coming from the Netherlands, who is one of the top squads around. Ukraine is playing confident and aggressive right now and that is sure to help them out in this contest.
However, their defense hasn’t been the greatest so far, which could cause some issues down the line. They couldn’t hold the draw at 2-2 when they pulled even with Netherlands in their first outing and then conceding a goal to North Macedonia wasn’t encouraging. Most of that is simply due to mental mistakes when passing the ball, something that has to be sorted out if they want to advance further into the tournament. They did better against North Macedonia, but they will have to keep that same level of play against Austria. Ukraine matches up very well with Austria, now they just have to play with confidence to solidify a spot in the second round.
Austria
Austria was another team that was able to stomp on North Macedonia, beating them 3-1 in their opening contest. Although they were dominated right back in their previous game against the Netherlands, losing 2-0. This team has simply not looked very good lately, losing four of their last five games and overall having poor form. Even though they enter this contest with little to no momentum, Austria does have the talent to pull themselves back together and pick up a crucial win.
This squad can’t afford to suffer from the same mistakes they did against the Netherlands, though. It seemed as if they had completely given up in the first half when the Netherlands started playing very aggressively. Their defenders were just sitting back and barely attempted to intercept any passes that the Netherlands were throwing around to one another. If Austria comes out with the same mentality, they’re not going to advance.
Another major factor in this game will be the return of forward Marko Arnautovic, as he was suspended earlier in the year. His return may give Austria the boost that they desperately need.