Ukraine vs Azerbaijan prediction: EUROPE: World Cup – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-10-12 18:45.
[p]Ukraine look to effectively condemn Azerbaijan to World Cup qualifying (WCQ) failure as their own quest for qualification continues at āhomeā in KrakĆ³w, Poland.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Ukraine achieved their first victory in this WCQ cycle at the third time of asking (D1, L1) as they beat Iceland 5-3 in an eight-goal thriller on Friday. Now in a much stronger position to qualify for a first World Cup finals since 2006, Ukraine can strengthen their grip on second place and the play-off spot that would provide if only they can overcome group minnows Azerbaijan. Youād be forgiven for thinking that having no home advantage would harm their chances, but Ukraine have a fairly formidable record when hosting on Polish soil, losing just one of nine such games (W4, D4), and even that was against #2-ranked France.[/p]
[p]Sitting rock-bottom of Group D with a single point to their name (D1, L2), Azerbaijan face a must-win game if theyāre to realise their dream of qualifying for a World Cup finals for the first time ever as an independent nation. Anything short of upsetting the odds here could see Azerbaijan cut adrift from the top-two with just two games to play, although producing the requisite result is a mammoth task for a team whoāve won just one of their last 11 away games (D1, L9). Looking at more recent form will hardly inspire confidence either, with Azerbaijan winless since June 2024 (D3, L10).Ā [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]This is only the fourth meeting between these nations, with Ukraine unbeaten across the three prior H2Hs (W1, D2) after drawing the reverse fixture 1-1.Ā [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Eight of Ukraineās last ten matches have seen both teams score.Ā [/p]
[p]Ten of the last 13 goals Ukraine scored arrived beyond half-time.Ā [/p]
[p]Eleven of Azerbaijanās last 12 defeats came by 2+ goal margins.Ā [/p]
[p]Azerbaijan have scored 2+ goals in just one of their last 18 matches.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]After scoring twice for Ukraine last time out, Ruslan Malinovskyi has now either contributed to a goal or been shown a card in each of his last five games for club and country (G2, A1, YC3). Emin Mahmudov is the scorer of Azerbaijanās only goal during this WCQ cycle, an equalising penalty against Ukraine, meaning three of his last four goals for club or country were equalisers from the spot.Ā [/p]
[p]Ukraineās Roman Yaremchuk is still ruled out, while Georgiy Sudakov was forced off with an injury in their last game. Azerbaijanās Abdulakh Khaybulaev suffered an injury against France.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]With Azerbaijan tending to lose heavily, backing Ukraine to win and over 3.5 goals could prove profitable.[/p]
[p][i]Author: Matthew Billon[/i][/p]