Azerbaijan vs Slovakia prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-10-13 16:00.
[p]Azerbaijan are staring at automatic relegation after a 3-1 loss to Estonia on Friday kept them rooted to the bottom of Group C1 in the UEFA Nations League (UNL). With three defeats – each coming by a two-goal margin – their stay in this division could depend on the reverse fixture against third-placed Estonia next month, who they currently trail by just three points.[/p]
[p]Fernando Santos’ men will certainly want to improve on their previous home outing, which ended in a 3-1 defeat to Sweden despite the contest remaining scoreless until the hour-mark. That looks unlikely given that Azerbaijan have lost nine of the 11 previous H2Hs between the sides (W2), but one of those wins did come in the previous UNL cycle to help them finish above Slovakia![/p]
[p]The visitors will travel in a confident frame of mind after recovering from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against Sweden on Friday to extend their unbeaten run in this competition (W2, D2). Going behind is becoming an unwanted habit for the Slovaks as they conceded the match opener in four of their last six UNL matches, something they have at least avoided in all nine H2H wins.[/p]
[p]Slovakia remain in contention for promotion, but their automatic chances perhaps depend on next month’s showdown in Sweden. They’ll look to stay in the hunt with a win here, and hitting the road doesn’t necessarily hurt them considering they’ve won three of their last four away UNL games (L1). All three wins came by a 1-0 scoreline with the winner arriving beyond the hour mark, so the travelling fans may be kept waiting.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Ramil Sheydayev could be gearing up for a late impact here as three of his last four international goals have come beyond the 85th minute in wins for Azerbaijan. David Strelec scored the second goal in the 2-0 reverse H2H win and netted both of Slovakia’s goals in the 2-2 draw against Sweden. Interestingly, four of his five scoring appearances for his country have come in games where exactly four goals were scored.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Just two of Slovakia’s nine UNL away games saw both teams score.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Sridhar B[/i][/p]