Preview: Armenia vs. Belarus - prediction, team news, lineups

Back in action four months after their 9-1 humiliation against Portugal, Armenia return to the field on Sunday as they face Belarus in an international friendly at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium.

Like their hosts, the Belarusians will play no part in the 2026 World Cup, so this weekend’s fixture effectively serves as preparation for September’s UEFA Nations League campaign.

Match preview

Armenia’s trip to Porto to take on Portugal ended a three-game run without scoring, but Havakakan conceded nine, all but wiping out any positivity from finally finding the back of the net.

Eghishe Melikyan's side had drawn blanks in World Cup qualifying defeats to Hungary (2-0), Ireland (1-0) and Hungary again (1-0), and they could hardly have envisaged such a heavy loss to the 2016 European champions.

While that defeat to Portugal extended their losing streak to four, they will be keen to avoid a fifth successive loss and secure their first victory since September.

That victory also came against the Irish in World Cup qualifying, and while it ultimately had little impact on their progress, as they finished bottom of Group F, it at least ensured they did not go winless.

They now strive to record a first win in five to slightly erase the memory of that heavy defeat to the one-time European champions at the back end of 2025.

Belarus are far from continental heavyweights, but the visitors enter Sunday’s friendly in healthier form.

Although the White Wings failed to win any of their final seven matches of 2025, including six World Cup qualifiers, they did avoid defeat in their last two fixtures against Denmark and Belarus, drawing 2-2 and 0-0 respectively.

Viktor Goncharenko has since taken charge following those final results of 2025, beginning his tenure on a high with Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Cyprus.

Ivan Tikhomirov’s 24th-minute strike handed Belarus the lead, and they held on to record their first win since June 2025.

Now, Goncharenko aims to guide Bielyia Kryly to back-to-back victories for the first time since their March-June successes over Azerbaijan (2-0) and Kazakhstan (4-1), thereby extending his unbeaten start in the job.

Armenia International Friendlies form:

Armenia form (all competitions):

Belarus International Friendlies form:

Belarus form (all competitions):

Team News

Initially called up to the Armenia squad, Karen Melkonyan has since withdrawn and been replaced by Arsen Sadoyan.

Sadoyan is one of six outfield players — Junior Bueno, Artur Askaryan, Karlen Hovhannisyan, Finn Geragusian and Narek Hovhannisyan — who could make their debuts on Sunday, while goalkeepers Arman Nersesyan and Gor Matinyan could also win their first caps for Havakakan.

After a dream debut against Cyprus, Tikhomirov will hope to carry the momentum from his maiden appearance into his second international cap for the White Wings.

With Karen Vardanyan also making his first appearance for Belarus last time out, Daniil Galyata remains the only outfield player in the group yet to win an international cap, while Mikhail Kozakevich could feature if Goncharenko opts to make a change in goal.

Armenia possible starting lineup:

Avagyan; Tiknizyan, Mkrtchyan, Muradyan, Piloyan; Agasaryan, Arutyunyan, Oganesyan; Spertsyan, Ranos, Serobyan

Belarus possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Pechenin, Volkov, Shumanskiy, Kalinin; Yablonskiy, Ebong; Gromyko, Barkovskiy, Tikhomirov; Lisakovich

We say: Armenia 1-2 Belarus

Belarus could carry the momentum from their victory over Cyprus into Yerevan, exploiting Armenia’s defensive weaknesses. Even so, Havakakan may rally late to keep the score respectable in a narrow defeat.

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