Turkey vs Iceland prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2024-09-08 18:45.
[p]After kicking off their UEFA Nations League (UNL) campaign with a goalless stalemate against Wales, Euro 2024 quarter-finalists Turkey now make a swift return to Izmir for round two. That’s something of a rarity for boss Vincenzo Montella, who has incredibly managed 13 of his opening 14 games with the national side on foreign soil, with his only home game to date seeing them beat Latvia 4-0 in Konya in October 2023.[/p]
[p]A much-anticipated home return could be a good omen, with Turkey scoring at least twice in five straight unbeaten UNL games on Turkish soil ahead of this encounter (W3, D2). Despite their strong favouritism, Turkey have struggled against Iceland over the years, winning just twice across 13 historical H2Hs (W2, D3, L8), although both victories came on home soil. [/p]
[p]Outperforming an underdog tag is a trait often associated with Iceland, who have recently defied the odds to defeat both England and Israel on foreign soil. Those victories came prior to Iceland kicking off their League C campaign with a 2-0 win over Montenegro, which may be just the kind of confidence booster that 70 year-old boss Åge Hareide needs as he looks to improve on his personal winless record against Turkey (D1, L1). [/p]
[p]Doing so in the UNL will be no mean feat for Iceland who, before beating Montenegro on Friday, had unbelievably never won a game at any venue in this competition (D4, L10)! Their UNL away record therefore stands at a rather dire D2, L5, albeit the fact both draws came across their latest two trips could perhaps breed some cautious optimism ahead of this latest encounter. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Turkey’s talismanic captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu will be keen to add to his impressive return of five goal contributions (G3, A2) across his last eight UNL appearances after returning from a knock picked up with Inter Milan. One of Iceland’s hottest prospects, 20 year-old Real Sociedad striker Orri Óskarsson scored his third senior international goal in nine appearances in round one, all of which were game openers. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Iceland have conceded a goal beyond the 75th minute in six of their seven UNL away games. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]