Austria vs San Marino Prediction: Arnautovic can close in on scoring record

Austria will look to maintain their perfect start to qualifying for the Fifa World Cup when they host San Marino in Vienna on Thursday (19:45 BST). The two have already met, with the hosts winning 4-0 in San Marino back in June.

The visitors have played one more game than Austria but they have lost all five fixtures thus far. Read on for my Austria vs San Marino predictions, alongside the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Austria's Patrick Wimmer will be unavailable for this contest because of the red card he picked up against Bosnia-Herzegovina last time out.

Midfielder Marcel Sabitzer has three goals in qualifying so far, and he is set to continue in Ralf Rangnick's midfield.

Veteran attacker Marko Arnautovic (36), now of Red Star Belgrade, still has a role to play for his country. The former Inter Milan and Stoke City man has 41 goals for his country, three shy of record goalscorer Toni Polster.

Arnautovic is already Austria's most-capped player in history, and he will hope that he can end his career with another record.

After making his senior debut in March, winger Raul Florucz will hope to have an impact during this international break, having made six goal contributions with Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian Pro League this season.

Christoph Baumgartner has been a regular source of goals for Das Team in recent years and he is set to have a role to play on Thursday.

Football Odds

For San Marino, veteran striker Matteo Vitaioli is set to make his 98th appearance for his country against Austria but he still has just one goal to his name.

Number nine Nicola Nanni will likely be the visitors' biggest threat as his four goals is the most scored by any player in this month's squad.

Today's Football Fixtures

Austria vs San Marino Odds

Austria have won all four of their qualifiers so far and given the level of their opponents, they are the overwhelming favourites at 1/500.

You can get an improved price of 4/9 (implied probability of 69.2%) for the hosts to win with a -4 handicap.

The draw is valued at 66/1, which is the same price for a San Marino victory.

Player to score two or more goals - Marko Arnautovic @ 4/5

He may be in the twilight years of his career, but Arnautovic's continued selection for his country shows that he is valued by his manager. No other Austrian player in history has earned more caps (127) than him, and he is just four goals away from becoming Das Team's all-time leading goalscorer.

His tally currently stands at 41 and Polster has the record with 44. Arnautovic will be itching to play in this match because he bagged a brace in the reverse fixture back in June.

He played the full 90 minutes that day, and I suspect he may get the full run out again in Vienna. Everyone knows how much San Marino struggles on the international stage, especially when they are coming up against players of this pedigree.

Arnautovic should be fired up for these upcoming matches with history in sight, and I think he's worth backing to bag a brace on Thursday.

Austria to win to nil @ 1/3

The prices are not as enticing as you'd hope for this clash but given the gulf in quality, you understand why. My second tip is for Austria to win to nil, as they did against Thursday's opponents back in June.

I think the hosts' attacking players will keep the visitors penned in their own half for much of the contest and if San Marino are able to break through at any point, I am expecting Austria's back line to stand firm.

The home side have won two of their previous three qualifiers to nil, and I believe this trend will continue here.

Offers

Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

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