Kazakhstan vs Slovenia prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2024-10-12 13:00.
[p]Kazakhstan continued their goal drought for the third game running in their UEFA Nations League (UNL) campaign, as a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Austria on Thursday kept them bottom of the group B3 standings with just a single point to their name. The side have experienced two promotions in three previous UNL editions, but another defeat here against Slovenia could push them closer to a return to League C.[/p]
[p]A miserable H2H record adds further to the negatives as the Kazakh’s lost all three previous matches, with each finishing with exactly three goals. One of those was a 3-0 defeat on matchday two of this campaign, where a Benjamin Šeško hat-trick sealed their fate. But there are still hopes of turning the tide as Kazakhstan held Norway to a commendable goalless draw at home on matchday one, and also secured three consecutive home UNL wins preceding that result.[/p]
[p]For the first time across ten matches, Slovenia conceded more than once, losing 3-0 to Norway on Thursday and dropping to third in the group standings. Despite this, there is a very slim chance of them finishing matchday four bottom of the standings even if they lose, while a win could see them stay in the top-two race and in with a chance of a second promotion in three UNL editions.[/p]
[p]The visitors appear unlikely to drop their guard again based on recent form, having lost just once during regular time across their last 13 games (W5, D7). Away form is a worry, though, as the loss to Norway compounded their recent struggles on the road, having failed to win any of their last five away UNL matches (D3, L2). [/p]
[p]Key battle: Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov has three UNL goals to his name, two of which have been match openers, but the Kazakhstan midfielder has also seen three yellow cards across his last four games in this competition. He’ll look to beat Jan Oblak in the Slovenian goal, who shut Kazakhstan out in the reverse fixture and has seven clean sheets in 13 UNL matches, although five came in the 2020/21 edition.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Four of Kazakhstan’s last six UNL matches produced exactly three goals.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Sridhar B[/i][/p]