Preview: Belgium vs. Austria - prediction, team news, lineups

Belgium and Austria will aim to maintain their 100% records in Group F when they face off at the King Baudouin Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Austrians kicked off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with back-to-back victories in March, while the Belgians began with a 3-0 win over Sweden.

Match preview

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Having been drawn alongside Croatia, Morocco and Canada, Belgium entered the 2022 World Cup as favourites to win their group, but the Red Devils flattered to deceive and ultimately failed to live up to expectations.

Following a 1-0 victory over Canada, Belgium suffered a 2-0 defeat to Morocco before playing out a goalless draw with Croatia, meaning that Roberto Martinez's side failed to qualify for the knockout phase altogether.

Martinez resigned shortly after Belgium's elimination from the World Cup, with Domenico Tedesco succeeding the Spaniard, and the former RB Leipzig manager heads into his third game in charge with a 100% record.

Romelu Lukaku netted a hat-trick as Belgium defeated Sweden 3-0 in Tedesco's maiden match, and the Red Devils followed up that triumph with a 3-2 friendly win over Germany, courtesy of goals from Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Yannick Carrasco.

Although the Belgians have been wildly inconsistent of late – recording three wins, one draw and three losses in their previous seven outings – Tedesco appears to have given the squad a new lease of life following a stagnant end to the Martinez era.

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Austria, meanwhile, find themselves at the summit of Group F – three points clear of Belgium and Sweden – having taken maximum points from their first two qualifiers back in March.

Das Team thrashed Azerbaijan 4-1 in their opening game, with Marcel Sabitzer bagging a brace in the rout, and they extended their winning run three days later, coming from behind to claim a deserved 2-1 victory over Estonia.

Thanks to friendly victories against Andorra and Italy back in November, Austria head into Saturday's clash on a four-game winning streak, having scored nine goals while keeping two clean sheets.

It is no secret that Ralf Rangnick's side endured a UEFA Nations League campaign to forget last year, winning just one of their six matches while suffering four defeats, but Das Team have turned the corner since then.

That said, Austria's last victory over Belgium came all the way back in 1959, with the Red Devils winning two of the five meetings between the nations since then.

Team News

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Belgium will be without Kevin De Bruyne on Saturday after the Manchester City star picked up an injury during the Champions League final, with uncapped Wolfsburg midfielder Aster Vranckx coming in as De Bruyne's replacement.

Vranckx is one of six uncapped players in Tedesco's squad, as the Italian manager has also called up Thomas Kaminski, Arnaud Bodart, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye and Olivier Deman for the first time.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Jan Vertonghen, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois all have more than 100 caps to their name, while Yannick Carrasco, Youri Tielemans and Michy Batshuayi have all reached the half-century milestone.

Tedesco will likely opt for either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation on Saturday, with Courtois in goal and Lukaku leading the line, while Lois Openda could join Lukaku in attack after enjoying a hugely successful domestic campaign with Ligue 1 side Lens.

As for Austria, Ralf Rangnick is set to hand David Alaba his 100th international cap this weekend, with the Real Madrid defender expected to join Leeds United's Maximilian Wober in the visitors' backline.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Freiburg striker Michael Gregoritsch will likely be joined in attack by veteran forward Marko Arnautovic, who has scored 34 goals in 106 appearances for his country.

Bayern Munich-bound Konrad Laimer will operate in Austria's engine room, while fellow Bundesliga stars Dejan Ljubicic, Patrick Wimmer and Christoph Baumgartner will compete with Marcel Sabitzer for a place in the midfield.

Belgium possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate; Onana, Tielemans, Mangala; Carrasco, Lukaku, Openda

Austria possible starting lineup:
Bachman; Mwene, Alaba, Danso, Wober; Laimer, Seiwald, Sabitzer, Wimmer; Arnautovic, Gregoritsch

We say: Belgium 3-1 Austria

Given that Belgium have scored three goals in each of their two matches under Tedesco, we expect the Red Devils to secure another high-scoring victory over Austria, who have managed to keep just two clean sheets in their previous nine games.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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