In Group C3, Slovakia started as the favourites but a surprise defeat at home in the last match will give hope to Friday’s hosts Azerbaijan.
Follow Us
Slovakia will be keen to bounce back from their shocking defeat to Kazakhstan when they take on Azerbaijan in the UEFA Nations League. In Group C3, Slovakia started as the favourites but a surprise defeat at home in the last match will give hope to Friday’s hosts Azerbaijan. However, the home side themselves is in big trouble after failing to win their opening two fixtures in the competition. After losing the opener to Kazakhstan 2-0, Azerbaijan played out a goalless draw with Belarus. On the other hand, Slovakia beat Belarus 1-0 in the opener but lost by the same margin to Kazakhstan next.
FIFA rankings favour Slovakia big time. They are placed 45th compared to Azerbaijan’s 129th spot. If we go with the rankings, then the visitors have to be the favourites for the clash on Friday. However, Slovakia’s form this year has been highly inconsistent after winning two and losing two of the four fixtures they played in 2022. That inconsistency has been a part of their story even in 2021. They have to figure out a way to add consistency to their game in order to have a successful Nations League campaign.
READ MORE – Belarus vs Kazakhstan: Nations League Live Stream and Probable Lineups
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan are going through an extremely poor patch. They are yet to win a football game this year. Infact the last time Azerbaijan won a match was last year in June when they beat Belarus in a friendly game. Taking that into account, it is unlikely to see the home side pulling off a major upset on Friday. Nonetheless, Slovakia will be wary of Friday’s hosts, as they will be keen to bounce back from the previous game’s setback.
Azerbaijan have to make one important change after their winger Qismat Aliyev received the marching orders in the last match. Not long after coming on as a substitute, Aliyev was sent off against Belarus, meaning he will miss Friday’s match. It will be interesting to see if they make any other changes to the starting lineup. On the other hand, Slovakia will miss the services of Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar. At the end of the first half against Kazakhstan, he was taken off due to an injury. Martin Valjent is the most likely candidate to replace him. Up front, it will possibly be a choice between Ladislav Almasi or Robert Bozenik.
Azerbaijan possible line-up: Mahammadaliyev, Huseynov, Mustafazada, Haghverdi, Medvedev, Mahmudov, Qarayev, Silvestre, Salahly, Emreli, Alaskarov
Slovakia possible line-up: Rodak, Koscelnik, Gyomber, Valjent, Chvatal, Kucka, Rusnak, Lobotka, Suslov, Haraslin, Almasi
READ MORE – Malta vs Estonia: Nations League Live Stream and Probable Lineups
The UEFA Nations League match between Azerbaijan and Slovakia will take place at the Dalga Arena on Friday, 9:30 pm IST.
Select UEFA Nations League 2022-23 matches will be telecast live on the Sony TEN network in India. Besides, live streaming of these matches will be available on SonyLIV and JioTV apps and OTT platforms in India.
