Sweden vs Azerbaijan prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-03-26 18:45.
Despite falling to a thumping 3-0 defeat to Belgium in the opening game of their UEFA European Championship qualifying (ECQ) campaign in a match that saw 41-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimović return to the international scene, Sweden head coach Janne Andersson refused to be downbeat, insisting his side are ‘not that far away’ from the Belgians. If his team are to keep in touch with them at the top of the group, a win against Azerbaijan is surely essential given they’re the lowest ranked side in this section.
Andersson will be looking for his side to avoid suffering back-to-back defeats for the second time inside 12 months, and their incredibly strong record in ECQs should give him confidence they can do just that. Sweden have lost just two qualifiers on home soil since October 2003 (W16, D5), while they’ve also reached every finals since 1996, so the omens are strong that they can bounce back with a win here.
Azerbaijan arrive in Scandinavia on the back of an emphatic 4-1 defeat against Austria in their group opener – a miserable start to their attempt at reaching a first-ever major finals as an independent nation. Achieving that rather far-fetched dream surely hinges on winning a maiden Euros qualifier away from home (D4, L31), a sequence that includes losing all four road trips in trying to reach the 2020 tournament, and recording a first ever H2H win (and goal!) against Sweden (L2).
Some heart can be taken from the fact that three of those defeats came by just a one-goal margin, but Gianni De Blasi’s men could be forgiven for forgetting what winning feels like on this stage, as they last won a Euros qualifier back in 2015 against Malta. That was one of just six victories Azerbaijan have managed trying to reach the Euros (D10, L52), so unsurprisingly, they’ve never finished outside of the bottom two of a qualifying group.
Players to watch: Sweden winger Dejan Kulusevski has impressed since joining Tottenham, but he’ll be looking to build on a meagre return of just two goals from 28 caps for his country. Anchoring the Azerbaijan midfield could well be Emin Mahmudov, who has scored in two of his country’s last three matches.
Hot stat: Azerbaijan have kept just one clean sheet in ECQs away from home.