Slovenia vs Finland prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-10-13 16:00.
Group H is arguably the most hotly-contested group across all of UEFA European Championship qualifying, with four teams separated by just one point with four games to go! Only the top two will book their tickets to Germany next year and it’s advantage Slovenia right now, who retained their position at the top by winning their last two matches against the groups underachievers Northern Ireland and minnows San Marino during the September international break.
They take on Finland next, whom they hold a slender one-point advantage over despite losing the reverse fixture 2-0 in June, on the same day the other group hopefuls Denmark and Kazakhstan do battle. The margin for error is seemingly non-existent for Matjaž Kek and his men, who’ll have to produce a massive effort here, and likely a few more, if they’re to end what would be a 24-year absence from the Euros finals come summer 2024.
An equal level of occasion will be felt by those in the Finnish camp, who’ll be looking to make back-to-back Euros appearances after never having featured in a major tournament prior. A run of four straight wins featuring a perfect defensive record of no goals conceded, sandwiched between a pair of defeats to the group’s top seeds Denmark, has put them right in the mix in Group H.
It’s therefore been an expectation-busting qualifying campaign thus far for the Eagle-owls, but they’ll be determined not to see their dreams dashed at this late stage. They now travel knowing their attack could be the difference maker in making their dreams come true, since their defence has conceded more than twice in only two of their last 14 away games.
Key battle: The performance of the two goalkeeping captains could play a deciding factor in who goes to Germany next year, as for all his quality, Slovenia’s Jan Oblak has only kept five clean sheets in his last 17 international appearances, while counterpart Lukas Hradecky has only been breached four times this qualifying campaign, ensuring Finland have conceded the least goals in Group H.
Hot stat: Slovenia have experienced only one scoreless first-half in their last nine matches.