Kukesi vs Austria Wien Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Albanian side Kukesi did a good job of holding off Austria Wien when they met in the first leg of this tie last week. The hosting Austrians dominated possession throughout the game, but they were limited to ten shots on goal and the visitors countered well and created a decent amount of opportunities themselves. Unfortunately for Kukesi they couldn’t take any of their chances, and a 24th minute goal from Felipe Pires was enough for Austria Wien to win the first leg.

Judging by Kukesi’s performance on Thursday this tie is far from over though. They were surprisingly good against their much more experience opponents and should feel fairly good coming into the game.

This defeat did end the Albanian’s eight match unbeaten streak though, which is what helped them secure a 3rd place finish in the Albanian Superliga and win their first ever Albanian Cup. At home they have eight, drawn three, and lost one of their last 12 outings.

Austria Wien can be absolutely ruthless at times though. They followed their first leg victory with a 6-0 hammering of Dornbim in the Austrian Cup, and similar performances recently have resulted in an 11-0 friendly victory, a 5-0 Austria Bundesliga win over Ried, and a 9-0 thrasihng of Mattersburg in the Bundesliga as well. If Austria Wien have their shooting boots on they have the ability to demolish opponents. Also, all of these hammerings came away from home, so Kukesi have to be wary.

This excellent attacking play means that they have won seven of their last eight matches, with six of these eight games resulting in at least three goals being scored. Depending on which Austria Wien side turns up this could be a very high scoring match. Away from home Austria Wien have scored a ridiculous 33 goals in their last five games, conceding five for an average of over seven goals per game.

My prediction is that the thrilling attacking play will be back on Thursday. Kukesi will have to come out of their shells and press Austria Wien in order to overturn the first leg deficit, and this will allow the Austrians more chances to find the net. Considering the high scoring nature of the majority of Austria Wien’s matches, odds of 43/40 for Over 2.5 Goals look incredibly good value. I’m going for a 3-0 win for Austria Wien as 12/1 for my correct score prediction.