Azerbaijan and Belarus go in search of their first wins of the 2022 UEFA Nations League when they go head to head at the Dalga Arena on Monday evening.
The two nations look set to fight out a relegation battle in Group C3, following disappointing starts to this year's competition over the past two weeks.
Match preview
© Reuters
Azerbaijan stretched their winless streak to 13 matches across all competitions with a 1-0 defeat against Slovakia on Friday evening.
Despite seeing very little of the ball and withstanding numerous attempts on their goal, Giovanni De Biasi's side kept their superior at arm's length for much of the clash in Baku.
However, former Manchester City midfielder Vladimir Weiss ensured that Azerbaijan would come away empty-handed after netting an 81st-minute winner for the visitors.
As a result, Monday's hosts occupy bottom spot in Group C3 heading into matchday four, leaving their clash with Belarus a crucial one in their quest to avoid relegation to League D.
Picking up three points would leave them in control of their own destiny heading into the final two games of the group in September, but recording the desired win could prove difficult considering their current shyness in front of goal.
Friday's blank means that Azerbaijan are yet to score in the Nations League this year, and in fact, they have failed to score in their last seven encounters in the competition, following four consecutive failures to find the back of the net in the 2020 campaign too.
A tie against their fellow strugglers will provide them with some hope however, particularly on home soil, so De Biasi will be looking for his side to get themselves off the mark, whilst hoping to lift them off the foot of the table in the process.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, as mentioned above, visitors Belarus have also struggled in their opening three ties of the 2022-23 Nations League campaign.
Georgi Kondratiev's side did manage to get themselves off the mark in front of goal during their hosting of Kazakhstan on Friday, but Vladislav Malkevich's goal six minutes from time was only enough to secure a point against the group leaders.
The point means that Belarus occupy third spot ahead of their hosts on Monday, courtesy of a one-point advantage following the draw between the two sides last week.
Struggles over the June internationals so far are a contrast to Belarus's actions over the previous few months, when three consecutive victories were recorded over Jordan, India and Bahrain between November 2021 and March of this year, albeit in international friendlies against weaker opposition.
After conceding just two goals in their last five fixtures across all competitions, Kondratiev has put together a well-drilled outfit in recent months, meaning they remain a tough side to beat no matter the opposition recently.
As a result, should they manage to find the back of the net in Baku on Monday, they will be well set to record an all-important three points in their battle to avoid the drop to League D in the Nations League, against an opponent that endures its own struggles in the final third of the pitch as well.
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
De Biasi named an unchanged lineup for the narrow defeat to Slovakia on Friday, after only making a couple of changes on matchday two as well.
Despite concluding the June internationals with a fourth fixture in quick succession, the Azerbaijan boss is therefore unlikely to deviate too far away from his consistent 3-5-2 setup on Monday.
As a result, captain Maksim Medvedev will look to earn his 81st cap for his country in a right wing-back role, whilst Badavi Huseynov will be out to make his 63rd appearance for his country in place of 19-year-old Jalal Huseynov in the back three.
Renat Dadashov should partner Ramil Sheydaev in attack once more, despite the former failing to find the back of the net in his opening 15 caps for Azerbaijan.
As for the visitors, Kondratiev also tends to opt for a back three, although he does like to switch between variants of a 3-4-3 and 3-5-2.
Malkevich and Valeri Gromyko made huge impacts off the bench against Kazakhstan on Friday, so both are likely to be promoted into the starting 11.
Several changes are expected from Kondratiev overall, with the Belarus boss often opting to rotate his lineup throughout the hectic fixture schedule over the last couple of weeks.
Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Mahammadaliyev; B Huseynov, Mustafazada, Haghverdi; Medvedev, Makhmudov, Silvestre, Nazarov, Salahli; Dadashov, Sheydaev
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Pavlyuchenko; Khadarkevich, Volkov, Yudenkov; Shevchenko, Yablonski, Gromyko, Malkevich; Bykov, Bogomolski, Ebong
We say: Azerbaijan 1-0 Belarus
As alluded to above, this looks set to be a tight Group C3 encounter on Monday evening, between two sides in desperate need for the points following poor runs of form.
Confidence is likely to be low in both camps, particularly in the final thirds of the pitch, so goals are expected to be at a premium, with home advantage perhaps proving pivotal for Azerbaijan to nick all three points by a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
