Slovenia vs Slovakia prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B/C – Relegation betting tips on match 2025-03-22 17:00.
[p]After a goalless draw in midweek, Slovenia and Slovakia now slug it out in this UEFA Nations League (UNL) play-off second leg to determine who will get promoted to League B. Defeat here would see Slovenia go on to feature in League C for the first time since the 2020/21 campaign, so a distinct lack of recent goalscoring might be concerning for manager Matjaž Kek, as that 0-0 stalemate in Bratislava was the fifth consecutive game in this competition in which his men have netted no more than a goal (W1, D2, L2). [/p]
[p]At least at home they boast a decent UNL record, as their heavy 4-1 defeat to Norway in their last such fixture was only their second loss in their past 11 contests in the competition held in Ljubljana (W4, D5). A return home might boost their goalscoring hopes too, as they have managed to find the back of the net in their last five such UNL outings (W2, D2, L1). [/p]
[p]While Slovenia are working on their issues in attack, Slovakia will want to quickly rediscover the form that saw them finish, somewhat unfortunately, second in Group C1 after losing just one of their six matches (W4, D1). With that strong series of results, fans might therefore have been surprised with that drab draw last time out, as it was the first-ever time their side had been involved in a goalless UNL encounter and only the second time in their last 39 competitive games overall! [/p]
[p]Despite Slovakia losing six of their 11 UNL away trips (W4, D1), five of those defeats were by one-goal margins, so this is a nation certainly capable of earning promotion back to League B – from which they suffered relegation in 2020 – although they have won just one of the last nine meetings with Slovenia (D5, L3). [/p]
[p]Players to watch: One of the best in the goalkeeping business, Jan Oblak may be key to his side’s hopes of progression, with ten of his past 12 matches for Slovenia seeing him concede one goal or fewer, excluding penalty shootouts. Dávid Hancko was similarly resolute in the first leg, and he scored in Slovakia’s last away outing – one of two goal contributions (G1, A1) across his last four UNL games. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Slovenia have scored in the opening 20 minutes in just one of their last 13 competitive internationals. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Luke Bridle[/i][/p]