Austria (1-1-0) / Algeria (1-1-0)
10:00 PM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Algeria +280 / Austria +180 — Over/Under: 2.5
Algeria Preview
Algeria has 3 points in the tournament, with one win and one loss and are sitting on the 3rd place of Group J. They are coming off a 2-1 win over Jordan, where they had 72% possession of the ball and 17 total shots, 8 of them on target. They had 88% completed passes, and more expected goals, with 1.89 compared to Jordan’s 0.64.
Algeria is averaging one goal per game, while allowing 2 goals per game. They have a -1.0 goal differential, 1.10 average expected goals, 0.95 average expected goals conceded and +0.2 average expected goal differential. They have 62% possession of the ball and 60% save percentage, while having zero clean sheets.
Amine Gouiri, Nabil Benbouali are Algeria’s top scorers with one goal each. Riyad Mahrez is Algeria’s top passer, with one assist.
Austria Preview
Austria has 3 points in the tournament, with one win and one loss and are sitting on the 2nd place of Group J. They are coming off a 2-0 loss to Argentina, where they had 46% possession of the ball and 6 total shots, 1 of them on target. They had 86% completed passes, and fewer expected goals, with 0.53 compared to Argentina’s 2.36.
Austria is averaging 1.5 goals per game, while allowing 1.5 goals per game. They have a +0.0 goal differential, 1.11 average expected goals, 1.41 average expected goals conceded and -0.3 average expected goal differential. They have 55% possession of the ball and 62% save percentage, while having zero clean sheets.
Roman Schmid, Marko Arnautovic are Austria’s top scorers with one goal each. Xaver Schlager is Austria’s top passer, with one assist.
Austria vs Algeria Prediction
Austria won by 2-0 their only previous meeting back against Algeria back in 1982.
In this Austria vs Algeria Prediction, Austria is coming as +180 favorites. Both teams are still in the mix for the qualification with three points each and the winner will be automatically be qualified in the knockout phase of the World Cup, while Austria can settle with a draw, as they hold the tie-breaker, having scored more total goals. With Algeria being the team that needs only to win and also having fewer average expected goals conceded in the tournament so far, I like them at +0.5 goals in this one to win or draw.