Albania vs Czech Republic prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2024-11-15 19:45.
[p]Albania have never played in the top tier of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) before, but two wins from their opening four matches (L2) in the 2024/25 edition of the competition means that they remain within touching distance of a history-making campaign. The Red and Blacks beat Georgia 1-0 in their most recent outing, a result which means they could move top of the table by beating the Czech Republic in this clash.[/p]
[p]Equally though, the nations in League B Group 1 are so closely bunched together ahead of kick-off, that Berat Gjimshiti’s side could find themselves bottom of the pile if things go wrong in Tirana. Only three points separate first and fourth place, making it the tightest of the four-team groups across the entire UNL tournament ahead of this round. As such, supporters of a more pessimistic point-of-view may be more worried about a return to the third tier instead of looking upwards. [/p]
[p]Those fears will only be furthered by the fact that the Czech Republic have lost just one of the previous four H2Hs (W2, D1), with one of those victories coming in a 2-0 success just over a month ago. That has helped move Ivan Hašek’s side into top spot in the table with seven of an available 12 points taken (W2, D1, L1), meaning that their hopes of an immediate return to the top tier of the UNL are well and truly still alive.[/p]
[p]If they are to be promoted, the Czech Republic might need to improve their results away from home. Their most recent match was a 1-1 draw with Ukraine, which means that, including fixtures played on neutral territory, they’ve remarkably not picked up a competitive international win outside of their homeland since all the way back in June 2023 (D4, L4).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Albania will be keen for Jasir Asani to get his name on the scoresheet here, as they’ve won the five previous games in which he’s netted for his country, including against the Czech Republic in Euro 2024 qualifying. Tomáš Chorý may be charged with doing the damage for the visitors as he’s bagged four goals in his blossoming international career, three of which have come after half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Ten of the Czech Republic’s last 11 internationals have seen both teams score.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Matt Jones[/i][/p]