Belarus vs Northern Ireland prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-10-11 18:45.
[p]Beginning their UEFA Nations League (UNL) story at the bottom in League D, Belarus have done relatively well to uplift themselves and maintain their position in the third-tier of competition in the fourth edition of this tournament. Dreams of rising yet further are alive and kicking for the hosts, who have begun this campaign in fine fashion, with back-to-back clean sheets helping end an eight-game winless UNL run (D4, L4).Ā [/p]
[p]Most of Belarusā barren form in this competition has come on the road, which should give rise to a spurt of confidence in this āhomeā return. Despite playing in a neutral stadium in Hungary, Belarus have lost just twice in the UNL when theyāre entered as the designated home team (W4, D4, L2), yet thereās cause for potential trepidation as their previous two internationals played in this country did see them fail to score in the process.Ā [/p]
[p]Providing the opposition this time around are Northern Ireland, who travel to Zalaegerszeg on the back of a mixed start to this UNL campaign (W1, L1), as returning to League B where they began their UNL journey back in 2018 remains the overall goal for Michael OāNeillās side. Despite their mixed start, OāNeill has only faced San Marino more often as an international manager than Belarus whilst winning every game (W3), so heāll hope to justify their favouritism once again here.[/p]
[p]Doing so would prove to be a historic evening for Northern Ireland, who have never won away from home in this competition (D2, L7). Whilst that record looks dire on paper, the visitors have conceded more than once in just four of those nine trips and as such should at the very least keep this game tight, although the fact that theyāve trailed by half-time in their previous three UNL trips may be enough to raise concerns still.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Valeriy Gromyko has scored the opener in two of his last four games for club and country, including Belarusā only goal so far in this UNL campaign. Whilst he rarely gets a look in at West Brom, Paddy McNair is a staple of OāNeillās Northern Ireland setup. He often gets right amongst the action, picking up a yellow card in four of his last eight internationals.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Just one of Northern Irelandās last 18 internationals has ended level (W7, L10).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]