Preview: Albania vs Latvia - prediction, team news, lineups

Albania and Latvia will both be looking to record a crucial win when the two sides meet for a 2026 World Cup qualification fixture on Tuesday night.

The visitors are fourth in Group K, picking up four points from their opening four games in the section, while their hosts are third on five points, two points behind second-placed Serbia.

Match preview

Albania have a record of one win, two draws and one defeat from their four 2026 World Cup qualification matches, with the national side picking up five points from four games to sit third in Group K.

Sylvinho's side opened their qualification process with a 2-0 defeat to England, but their response has been impressive, beating Andorra 3-0 before drawing back-to-back matches against Serbia and Latvia.

Albania were in friendly action on September 4, beating Gibraltar 1-0, and they will be bidding to post their second win in the group ahead of a trip to Serbia during the October international break.

The Red and Blacks have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, so there is some history on offer in this qualification campaign, but they have twice featured at the European Championships, being eliminated in the group stage of the tournament in both 2016 and 2024.

Latvia, meanwhile, opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Andorra, but they then lost 3-0 to England before drawing 1-1 with Albania to move onto four points.

Unlike Albania, Latvia's last match was a World Cup qualifier, losing 1-0 to Serbia on Saturday night, so the visitors will be under pressure to bounce back here, especially with just one point between the two sides.

Paolo Nicolato's side have Andorra at home in their next match after this one, so a victory over Albania would leave them full of confidence, with another win then potentially arriving ahead of an away game against England.

Latvia have never managed to qualify for the finals of a World Cup, but they did make the European Championship in 2004, being eliminated in the group stage of the competition.

These two nations have met on six previous occasions, and all six of their matches have been draws, including a 1-1 in the reverse fixture in Latvia, which took place back in June.

Albania World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

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Albania form (all competitions):

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Latvia World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

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Latvia form (all competitions):

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Team News

Albania have some real quality in their squad, and there will be plenty of recognisable names on display for the home side here, including experienced goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha.

Mallorca's Marash Kumbulla and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are both in line for spots at the back, while Burnley's Armando Broja is expected to feature in the final third of the field.

There are plenty of options in the final third, but Arber Hoxha is expected to keep hold of his starting role.

As for Latvia, Vladislavs Gutkovskis has scored 11 times for the national side, and there will once again be a spot in the final third of the field for the 30-year-old.

Kristers Penkevics has only featured once for Latvia, but the 22-year-old is being tipped to start here, while Alvis Jaunzems is in line to turn out for the national side for the 47th time in his career.

Latvia are likely to line up with a back five against Albania, including Luzern's Andrejs Ciganiks.

Albania possible starting lineup:

Strakosha; Balliu, Hysaj, Kumbulla, Mitaj; Asllani, Shehu, Laci; Broja, Manaj, Hoxha

Latvia possible starting lineup:

Zviedris; Jagodinskis, Balodis, Cernomordijs, Jurkovskis, Ciganiks; Varslavans, Penkevics, Saveljevs, Zelenkovs; Gutkovskis

We say: Albania 2-1 Latvia

We are expecting this to be a close match, with Latvia having enough quality in their squad to harm Albania, but the home side should be able to navigate their way to an important three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.