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Unbeaten Ireland Face Stern World Cup Qualifying Test

Life is fairly rosy if you’re a Republic of Ireland supporter right now.

The boys in green currently sit joint top at the summit of FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group D, and only trail leaders Serbia on goal difference after their unbeaten start on the long and winding road to Russia 2018.

This weekend, however, Martin O’Neill’s team face a very tricky assignment in the form of an away trip to the Ernst-Happel Stadion, where they face fourth-placed Austria. True, the hosts were fairly wretched at last summers’ European Championship, but their home record makes grim reading for Republic of Ireland.

Ten Of The Best

Marcel Koller’s men are currently unbeaten in their previous 10 competitive home matches and have a 100% record against R.O.I. in Austria in recent years, winning their past four encounters while scoring 11 goals to the visitors’ one. With their biggest win being a 6-0 demolition in the 1972 Euro Championships, O’Neill will be mindful of keeping things tight so as not to derail his side’s current qualifying momentum.

While a repeat of that damaging encounter looks highly unlikely here, the bookies are currently giving Austria the edge, with Matchbook offering a best price of 21/10 on the home side emerging victorious. R.O.I. are meanwhile priced at 10/3 to get the win at William Hill, with the draw also available at 11/5.

Austrian frontman Marc Janko is currently rated as the 4/1 favourite to open the scoring on Saturday with Boyle Sports, while R.O.I. stalwart Jonathan Walters perhaps represents the best value for the visitors at 10/1 with Bet365. Whatever way you cut it, however, it should be far from an easy night for the away team, with a 1-1 draw being the best-priced positive result for the Republic at an enticing 6/1 with William Hill.

Spain Expected To Stroll

Over in Group G, meanwhile, things are expected to be far more straightforward for top-of-the-table Spain as they take on a FYR Macedonia side who are yet to record a point in this year’s FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign. La Furia Roja has scored 11 goals in their three games so far – conceding just once to Italy – but this should be tempered by the fact that the majority of those strikes came as they beat Liechtenstein 8-0.

FYR Macedonia, on the other hand, has shipped seven goals in their opening three games; and though they have found the back of the net on each occasion, the team currently have nothing to show for their efforts in Group G so far. The disparity in the two sides’ form going into this one is certainly reflected by the prices on offer from the bookies, with Spain rated as red hot favourites at 1/20 with Bet365, Betfred and Sky Bet.

Indeed, the home side is so highly-fancied here that you can get odds as big as 70/1 with Betfair on the visitors causing an upset, with even the draw coming in at a prohibitive 14/1 with Betfred. Despite the huge prices on offer, backing such an outcome looks sheer folly, so if you are determined to bet on Macedonia causing Julen Lopetegui’s men problems, both teams to score is as good as it gets at 27/10 with Betfair.

In terms of first scorer picks, the veritable who’s who of attacking talent in the home side’s ranks and the paucity of options for the opposition makes it a tough market to call. Diego Costa is currently the 13/5 favourite with Bet Victor – and with the Chelsea man currently on fire in the Premier League, you can also find an improved price of 15/8 on the burly centre-forward scoring two goals or more courtesy of Bet365.

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