France vs Israel prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League A betting tips on match 2024-11-13 19:45.
[p]There were concerns this game might not be played given the clashes in Amsterdam on Friday following a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, yet France‘s interior minister insisted the contest against Israel will still be going ahead. For Les Bleus, three straight wins means the fixture is a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) if they avoid defeat here or if Belgium don’t beat Italy.[/p]
[p]Part of that three-game winning run includes a dominant 4-1 triumph over Israel last month, building on a record of no loss in seven H2H meetings (W4, D3). They are heavily backed to stretch that unbeaten run to eight matches, but will have to do so without Kylian Mbappé who has been left out by coach Didier Deschamps, who insisted his continued absence “is for the best”.[/p]
[p]Against the backdrop of complex off-the-pitch political matters, Israel have played out a rotten UNL campaign and travel to France without a single point from their four matches so far. They have actually scored in all of those games, highlighting how their defence has been their undoing, with the visitors conceding 13 goals already this cycle. [/p]
[p]The step up to League A for the first time has clearly proved a bridge too far for Israel, as they are already out of contention for the knockout stage, and the away side will be relegated back to Group B if they fail to record a better result than Belgium on matchday five. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Bradley Barcola will come into the clash on a high after his brace for PSG on Saturday – he also scored one of his two UNL goals against Israel – three of those four said goals came in the first half. The visitors are likely to be pinning their goalscoring hopes on Mohammed Abu Fani given he has netted twice across his past three Israel appearances – both coming in the final 30 minutes of the match. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Israel have conceded five goals beyond the 60th minute across their previous three matches. [/p]
[p][i]Written by David H [/i][/p]