Armenia vs Turkey prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-03-24 17:00.
The looming threat of war in Armenia provides an unwelcome backdrop to the beginning of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. That’s been made tougher by manager Oleksandr Petrakov’s flailing attempts to get all-time top-scorer Henrikh Mkhitaryan out of retirement in search of a first ever major tournament qualification as an independent nation, albeit to no avail.
Although Armenia will enter this clash against Turkey as rank outsiders, they may be spurred on by the strange quirk that has seen four of their five victories since the beginning of 2021 come in the month of March. That’s not all as four of their five victories across the previous two calendar years also came right here in Yerevan, each time against higher-ranked nations than themselves!
In a group including both Croatia and Wales, Turkey will be well aware that maximum points will be required against the lesser sides if they’re to gatecrash the top-two this time around. Head coach Stefan Kuntz is determined to make a strong start in that regard and “bring some joy” to a nation that faced devastating earthquakes in February.
Taking to the road is unlikely to faze the Crescent Moons, who have won four of their last six away games (W4, L2) which helped them gain promotion to UEFA Nations League B and feature in an unsuccessful World Cup qualification play-off. Settling for a share of the spoils simply isn’t in Turkey’s nature as those six games form part of a run of 11 competitive away matches without a draw (W6, L5), with the odds suggesting they are likely to improve that record and register a second win in Armenia after their only other game here resulted in a 2-0 victory in 2008.
Players to watch: Armenia’s Eduard Spertsyan has raised eyebrows across Europe following his impressive 11-goal haul for Krasnodar this season, with five of the last seven opening the team’s scoring. Turkey’s Orkun Kökçü is similarly well revered throughout the continent after his 12 competitive goals this term have helped keep Feyenoord in the hunt for multiple trophies.
Hot stat: Just one of Armenia’s last seven internationals produced a goalless first half.