England Women vs Austria Women Prediction and Betting Tips: Lauren James backed to fire for the Lionesses

England take to the field on Friday night for the first time in 2024 in an interational friendly against Austria in Spain, live on ITV1 at 7.45pm.

England thrashed rivals Scotland 6-0 in their final match of 2023, however, despite the impressive scoreline they were left heartbroken after a late Netherlands goal against Belgium meant that Great Britain's hopes of making the 2024 Olympics were over.

Sarina Wiegman will be determined for her troops to move past this disappointment as they switch their attention to Euro 2025 next year. England will be keen on kick-starting the current year with a win against Austria, an opponent they have a dominant head-to-head record against, having won all nine of the previous encounters, including a 1-0 victory in the opening game of Euro 2022; a tournament the Lionesses famously went on to win.

One slight concern for Wiegman will be England's disappointing form in recent friendlies with the last five producing one win against Japan, three of those games were draws against Portugal, Norway and Czechia, while they lost to Australia. However, bookmakers fancy the Lionesses to record a win here at 2/9, with Austria out at 10/1 to beat England for the first time in 10 meetings. Alternatively, a draw can be backed at 9/2.

As mentioned, England can draw on a very one-sided record against Austra: Played nine, won nine.

The Lionesses have barely conceded in these meetings either with Austria failing to find the back in the last seven duels, all of which have been wins to nil for England, which brings me to my first bet at even-money with bet365. This gives us a nice slice of value, given how short England are to win the match outright (2/9).

Regular readers of BettingOdds.com, will know how successful an England win to nil bet has been in the past. It's been a staple under the Sarina Wiegman regime, occurring a whopping 22 times in her 45 matches, including last time out against Scotland (6-0) and three times against Austria during her tenure to date.

Lauren James bagged a brace in England's aforementioned 6-0 victory over Scotland, taking her tally to five goals in her last seven games for her country.

The Chelsea star has been electric at club level so far this season with her accumulation of 12 WSL goals second only to Man City's Khadija Shaw (14) and at least double the respective returns of her fellow England teammates at club level: Lauren Hemp (6), Rachel Daly (6), Alessia Russo (5), and Chloe Kelly (5).

James is a simply extraordinary talent who is capable of destroying any defence she does battle with. She's already accrued two hat-tricks and three braces for club and country this term and looks a solid bet at 7/4 to breach the Austrian backline on Friday night.