Luxembourg vs Belarus prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-09-07 13:00.
[p]After their strongest-ever UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign saw them reach the play-off semi-finals, hopes were high for Luxembourg (FIFA rank #84) ahead of this seasonâs UEFA Nations League (UNL). However, the Red Lions got off to a disappointing start with a 2-0 defeat in Northern Ireland on Thursday evening and have now been beaten without scoring in their last three games.[/p]
[p]Taking on Belarus at the Stade de Luxembourg this Sunday afternoon in their first home fixture since March, Luc Holtzâs side will be looking to extend their impressive home form, which has seen them win four of their last five (L1). Three of those victories were by at least a two-goal margin, and as two of those successes came against sides currently ranked higher than Belarus (#99), Luxembourg should fancy their chances of getting their UNL campaign back on track.[/p]
[p]Playing almost all of their games away from their home country due to sanctions, Belarus sit one point above their opponents ahead of this match after a 0-0 âhomeâ draw with Bulgaria in their UNL opener. The game saw the White Wings play against ten men from the 73rd minute onwards but, despite their numerical advantage, they were unable to get a goal, which means that it is now over nine months since they last found the net (D2, L3)! Scoring has been an issue throughout Carlos AlĂłsâ 11-match reign in charge to date (W2, D5, L4), with his side drawing blanks in eight encounters and netting more than once in only one fixture. [/p]
[p]Four of those scoreless performances came in their designated away matches, but AlĂłsâ men have been beaten just once in their last four âawayâ games (W1, D2). The Eastern Europeans also returned from Luxembourg with a 2-0 win when they last made the trip in 2018, a victory which extended their very strong H2H record to only two defeats from their 12 clashes (W6, D4).[/p]
[p]Key battle: Gerson Rodrigues looks like the player most likely to break Luxembourgâs goal drought, as he has found the net at least once in each of the last four games that they have scored and got their first goal in three of those fixtures. But on this occasion, he may need to get past Belarus keeper Fyodor Lapoukhov, who marked his competitive international debut with a clean sheet and the Flashscore Player of the Match award against Bulgaria on Thursday. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Belarus have failed to score before half-time in 11 of their last 12 games.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Tom Penn[/i][/p]