Slovakia
WC Qualification Europe
Group Stage
Sat , Mar 27 , 2021 20:45
2 - 2
Malta
Slovakia
Malta
2 - 2
Slovakia will look to grab their first three points in Group H when they continue their 2022 World Cup qualification campaign at home to Malta. Read our reasons for Slovakia vs Malta prediction and betting tips.
The Slovaks failed to impress in the opening match of their World Cup qualifying campaign, but they will have a much better chance to record their first win of the process against minnows from Malta. Even though experienced midfielder Marek Hamsik is out of contention through injury they are more than equipped to break the bad luck they have in the first match when they failed to score after numerous chances. The goalless draw against Cyprus could hurt their chances so another night without a win would be devastating with the team capable to beat any European outfit on a good day. Slovakia got a comfortable 3-0 win over Malta in the last World Cup Qualifying campaign and there could be a similar outcome when the sides meet in Trnava. Stefan Tarkovic’s side should have plenty in hand at home to minnows Malta who are 176th and 142 places below them in the FIFA Rankings. The hosts have kept clean sheets in three of their last five on their soil, while they also managed to maintain three shut-outs from their five home Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Slovakia boss Tarkovic is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack for this match, with the bulk of the side that started against Cyprus set to keep their positions. There could be a change in the final third of the field, though, with Michal Duris potentially coming in for Robert Bozenik in the center-forward position. The home side's XI will again include familiar faces, Newcastle United's Martin Dubravka, Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar, and Parma's Juraj Kucka.
Slovakia: Dubravka; Pekarik, Skriniar, Hancko, Hubocan; Kucka, Hrosovsky, Bero; Duda, Duris, Rusnak
The best compliment 176th-ranked Malta could get after giving Russia (rank 39, World Cup quarter-finalists in 2018 and Euro 2020 participants) a good run for their money and a 3-1 loss came from the visiting media. "A message to Cherchesov" is the headline in Sport Express (Russia's main sports portal) - "The second half was disgusting in terms of the quality of football Russia played." - "Malta was locking us in our half and could easily have equalized. That's a message to Cherchesov and the entire national team before Saturday's crucial game against Slovenia." Unfortunately, this performance was not enough for them to climb more places in the rankings. The fact that they still played a decent game similar to the performances in the UEFA Nations League and friendlies was a positive thing. Creating a result against a big country and top 40 in ranking is still far but Malta showed improvements despite their limitations regarding quality and very weak domestic league. To play two in a row at a high level isn’t likely to happen.
As for Malta, Mangia is unlikely to make many changes from the side that started against Russia, with the same back three likely to take to the field, with Joseph Mbong and Ryan Camenzuli in the wing-back positions. There could be alterations in the final third, though, with Satariano and Paul Mbong both impressing in the second half on Thursday, meaning that the pair could come into the XI. Steve Pisani is also an option for change in a midfield area, but Matthew Guillaumier is again expected to be given the nod in the middle of the park alongside Bjorn Kristensen.
Malta: Bonello; Shaw, Agius, Borg; J Mbong, Kristensen, Guillaumier, Camenzuli; Teuma, Satariano, P Mbong
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The Slovaks are usually very good against smaller nations and there is a very slim chance for the upset. BettingKick’s Slovakia vs Malta prediction: Home team win to nil.
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Slovakia
Malta
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D
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08.10.2021. | Russia | VS | Slovakia | 1-0 |
L
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07.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Cyprus | 2-0 |
W
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04.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Croatia | 0-1 |
L
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01.09.2021. | Slovenia | VS | Slovakia | 1-1 |
D
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23.06.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Spain | 0-5 |
L
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18.06.2021. | Sweden | VS | Slovakia | 1-0 |
L
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14.06.2021. | Poland | VS | Slovakia | 1-2 |
W
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06.06.2021. | Austria | VS | Slovakia | 0-0 |
D
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01.06.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Bulgaria | 1-1 |
D
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07.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Cyprus | 2-0 |
W
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04.09.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Croatia | 0-1 |
L
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23.06.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Spain | 0-5 |
L
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01.06.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Bulgaria | 1-1 |
D
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30.03.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Russia | 2-1 |
W
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27.03.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
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15.11.2020. | Slovakia | VS | Scotland | 1-0 |
W
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14.10.2020. | Slovakia | VS | Israel | 2-3 |
L
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08.10.2020. | Slovakia | VS | Republic of Ireland | 0-0 |
D
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04.09.2020. | Slovakia | VS | Czech Republic | 1-3 |
L
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11.10.2021. | Croatia | VS | Slovakia | 2-2 |
D
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08.10.2021. | Russia | VS | Slovakia | 1-0 |
L
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01.09.2021. | Slovenia | VS | Slovakia | 1-1 |
D
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18.06.2021. | Sweden | VS | Slovakia | 1-0 |
L
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14.06.2021. | Poland | VS | Slovakia | 1-2 |
W
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06.06.2021. | Austria | VS | Slovakia | 0-0 |
D
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24.03.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Slovakia | 0-0 |
D
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18.11.2020. | Czech Republic | VS | Slovakia | 2-0 |
L
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12.11.2020. | Northern Ireland | VS | Slovakia | 1-2 |
W
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11.10.2020. | Scotland | VS | Slovakia | 1-0 |
L
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14.11.2024. | Liechtenstein | VS | Malta | 2-0 |
L
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11.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
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08.10.2021. | Malta | VS | Slovenia | 0-4 |
L
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07.09.2021. | Russia | VS | Malta | 2-0 |
L
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04.09.2021. | Slovenia | VS | Malta | 1-0 |
L
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01.09.2021. | Malta | VS | Cyprus | 3-0 |
W
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04.06.2021. | Malta | VS | Kosovo | 1-2 |
L
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31.05.2021. | Malta | VS | Northern Ireland | 0-3 |
L
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30.03.2021. | Croatia | VS | Malta | 3-0 |
L
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27.03.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
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08.10.2021. | Malta | VS | Slovenia | 0-4 |
L
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01.09.2021. | Malta | VS | Cyprus | 3-0 |
W
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04.06.2021. | Malta | VS | Kosovo | 1-2 |
L
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31.05.2021. | Malta | VS | Northern Ireland | 0-3 |
L
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24.03.2021. | Malta | VS | Russia | 1-3 |
L
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17.11.2020. | Malta | VS | Faroe Islands | 1-1 |
D
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14.11.2020. | Malta | VS | Andorra | 3-1 |
W
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11.11.2020. | Malta | VS | Liechtenstein | 3-0 |
W
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07.10.2020. | Malta | VS | Gibraltar | 2-0 |
W
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06.09.2020. | Malta | VS | Latvia | 1-1 |
D
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14.11.2024. | Liechtenstein | VS | Malta | 2-0 |
L
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11.10.2021. | Cyprus | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
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07.09.2021. | Russia | VS | Malta | 2-0 |
L
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04.09.2021. | Slovenia | VS | Malta | 1-0 |
L
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30.03.2021. | Croatia | VS | Malta | 3-0 |
L
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27.03.2021. | Slovakia | VS | Malta | 2-2 |
D
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13.10.2020. | Latvia | VS | Malta | 0-1 |
W
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10.10.2020. | Andorra | VS | Malta | 0-0 |
D
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03.09.2020. | Faroe Islands | VS | Malta | 3-2 |
L
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15.11.2019. | Spain | VS | Malta | 7-0 |
L
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Daniel Garcia is originally from Basque Country, and as a kid who grew up just a few streets from Mendizorrotza Stadium, the choice of Deportivo Alavés as his favourite club is more than obvious. Because of his studies, he moved to Madrid where he graduated in Sports Journalism. Daniel plays football on the weekends, but that does not stop him from watching all La Liga matches. He believes that the outcome of a match can be predicted if all the parameters are analyzed well, including form of the players and weather conditions. Currently he is living in Belgrade, and is in love with a Serbian girl who works as a journalist at one of the famous Sport Channels in Serbia.