Slovakia vs Azerbaijan prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2022-09-21 18:45.
Seven-straight UEFA Nations League (UNL) games alternating between a defeat and win (W3, L4) perfectly sums up where Slovakia are at right now. As FIFA’s #51 ranked side, dispatching the lowly #128 ranked Azerbaijan wouldn’t be an issue if football was played on paper, but having been beaten twice already in this UNL campaign by a Kazakhstan side ranked just 14 places better than the visitors, this game could be a potential banana skin for Slovakia.
A hatful of permutations can ensure Slovakia at least retain their League C status for the next edition, but they will undoubtedly feel disappointed as an instant return to League B was undoubtedly their ultimate aim before the tournament started. To keep that dream alive, Slovakia must win themselves and hope for an unlikely Kazakhstan slip up against Belarus, though with eight wins from nine prior H2Hs against Azerbaijan (L1), they should at least hold up their end of the bargain.
A Kazakhstan defeat also keeps Azerbaijan in the hunt for top spot should they upset the apple cart and claim a first ever H2H win in Slovakia (L4). Gianni De Biasi’s side should at least come into this game with a little confidence after a 2-0 victory against League C3 basement side Belarus, which ended a run of 13 internationals without victory for Azerbaijan (D3, L10) dating back to June 2021.
Before getting carried away, safety itself isn’t yet assured for Azerbaijan, though if they better Belarus’ result, at a minimum, they will remain in League C. Azerbaijan come into this game on the back of a goalless four-game UNL away run (D2, L2), although their only two UNL road wins to date did come against higher ranked opposition than themselves, which perhaps gives them some hope here.
Players to watch: Slovakia’s Tomáš Suslov opened the scoring with his only international goal which came in the UNL, whilst Maksim Medvedev is the only Azerbaijan player to score across their last six UNL away games.
Hot stat: Only one of Slovakia’s last six internationals has seen more than two match goals.