Poland vs Austria Bet Builder Tips: Baumgartner to show both sides of the game

There is a crunch clash in Group D of Euro 2024 taking place on Friday (17:00, ITV1/STV) as Poland take on Austria in Berlin. The two nations were beaten in their opening matches, with Poland losing 2-1 to the Netherlands and Austria 1-0 at the hands of France.

Both are in desperate need of a result here to keep their qualification hopes alive, and judging by how they both played on matchday one, this could be an interesting encounter. Below you will find my Poland vs Austria bet builder tips.

Christoph Baumgartner and Piotr Zielinski 1+ shots on target each

I'm expecting a very competitive match between these two teams at the iconic Olympiastadion, and that means I think there will be a lot of action at both ends. There should be no shortage of chances in this contest after Austria managed to register six efforts on goal against France, while Poland had 12 of their own against the Dutch.

Both teams have players who can make an impact in the final third and for each side, I've picked out one player who I believe can have a shot on target in this match. For Austria, I have gone with midfielder Christoph Baumgartner. He was lively against Les Bleus and he finished the game with two attempts, which were both on target.

I reckon that he will have a huge role to play for Ralf Rangnick's team in this crucial second group game, and against a back line that is not as sturdy as France's, I think he may be able to have a little more joy when it comes to getting goalscoring chances.

The man I have gone for representing Poland is Piotr Zielinski, who is one of their most important attacking players. He had one effort on goal against the Netherlands and he did hit the target.

The Eagles did look good going forward in the second half, and they will look to carry that over into the Austria clash. They could welcome star striker Robert Lewandowski back into the starting XI, which will enhance Poland's attacking strength.

I suspect he and Zielinski can link up quite well and both could be presented with a number of chances at goal.

Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer 1+ fouls each

Austria have two very effective midfielders who were playing high against France in Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer. They are both aggressive and they also have the ability to pick out a pass, but it is the former I'm hoping for here.

Baumgartner was penalised four times against France last time out, while Laimer committed two fouls himself. With this match against Poland crucial for their ambition of reaching the knockout stage, and an intense high press key to Rangnick's philosophy, both players will be active from the front out of possession.

They both love to hassle the opposition and put them under pressure, but sometimes they do act too rashly when trying to win the ball back. This is what I expect to see in Berlin for this match, as I believe that this is a game where we will see a lot of turnover in possession, and these two will do anything to snuff out an attack before it reaches a threatening position.

Both teams to score

Due to the high stakes of this game, in which both teams need the points, I can see both teams scoring. Poland showed they were a threat from set-pieces but as they grew into the game, they created a lot of good chances from open play against the Netherlands.

Austria got into some good situations themselves against France but were either let down by the finish or were denied by some smart defending or goalkeeping. I sense that both teams will be eager to attack in this clash, which I predict will leave them both exposed to counter-attacks, which is why I think BTTS is a smart market to consider.

Over 3.5 Austria corners

Surprisingly, Austria had the lion's share of the corners against France with six, to Les Bleus' three. The attacking players will ask a lot of the Polish back line and I sense that we could be in for a decent amount of corners in this match, most likely at both ends.

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Betfred are running their famed Double Delight & Hat-trick Heaven offer on this match, meaning that if a player scores first and then nets again, you will be paid at double the odds. If he grabs a hat-trick, you will be paid at treble the odds!

Friday: Place an In-Play bet of £10 or more odds of 1/2+ on Slovakia v Ukraine or Poland v Austria and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Netherlands v France.

You can read all our latest Euro 2024 Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.