Luxembourg and Turkey will see their 100% UEFA Nations League records go on the line when they go head to head at the Stade de Luxembourg on Saturday evening.

Both sides have enjoyed victories in each of their two opening games in the 2022 competition, with neither conceding a goal so far either.

Match preview

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It has been a perfect, and perhaps unexpected, start from Luxembourg in their Nations League campaign so far.

After impressively coming within three points of promotion from Group C1 back in 2020, Saturday's hosts have started well again in the same group two years on as well.

An impressive 2-0 victory on the road in Lithuania back on June 4 was followed by a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the Faroe Islands on Tuesday evening to see Luc Holtz's side keep the pressure on group favourites Turkey.

Luxembourg did deserve their win in midweek after playing the better football and creating more opportunities in front of goal, but they were certainly provided with a helping hand or two on their way to victory.

Their hosts were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half courtesy of Rene Shaki Joensen's red card, before Luxembourg's Gerson Rodrigues converted from the penalty spot just seven minutes later.

Solvi Vatnhamar then saw red 10 minutes from time to reduce the Faroe Islands to nine men in the closing stages, allowing Luxembourg to stroll to a relatively comfortable victory in the end.

However, a much tougher test is to come on Saturday against the huge favourites Turkey, but Holtz's men are sure to revel in returning home for the first time during the 2022 campaign, and will look to use it to their advantage when seeking a shock result when they take to the field.

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Meanwhile, whilst Luxembourg have produced two excellent results to unexpectedly start Group C1 with a 100% record, Turkey have also done the same but with a large amount of expectation on their shoulders.

A disappointing past 12 months, during which Turkey suffered relegation from Group B3 of the 2020 Nations League, and disappointed their 'dark horses' tag at Euro 2020 to come home early without a single point from Group A, has been brushed aside for the time being.

A heartbreaking defeat to Portugal in the 2022 World Cup qualifying playoffs denied their dream of travelling to Qatar at the end of the year as well, but Stefan Kuntz's side have looked to kickstart a brighter era by earning promotion back to League B in the Nations League.

Comprehensive 4-0 and 6-0 wins have been recorded over the Faroe Islands and Lithuania respectively so far, meaning Saturday's visitors have certainly lived up to the expectation of being favourites for promotion as things stand.

Kuntz will be eager to avoid any complacency creeping in to his side's game during this weekend and beyond however, with the trip to Luxembourg perhaps not looking difficult on paper, but with it certainly possessing the potential for a slip up on matchday three.

This fixture does also have history when it comes to shocks, with Luxembourg coming out victorious on home soil back in 1972 during a qualifier for the 1974 World Cup.

However, Turkey have responded by winning the five meetings that have followed since, and they will be looking to record another comprehensive win on Saturday to further extend that run and also take a commanding lead at the top of Group C1.

Team News

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Despite being forced off with a knock in the closing stages in midweek, Mathias Olesen is expected to be fit to start once again for Luxembourg on Saturday.

Should Olesen be available, few, if any, changes are expected from the hosts following their impressive performances on the opening two matchdays so far.

Norwich City forward Danel Sinani, who spent the 2021-22 campaign on loan with Huddersfield Town, will be the man to watch once again alongside Rodrigues after the pair have netted all of their country's three goals of the campaign between them so far.

As for the visitors, Kuntz is likely to rotate his side once again on Saturday after making six changes for the 6-0 hammering of Lithuania in midweek.

Leicester City's Caglar Soyuncu, and Atalanta's Merih Demiral, are expected to return at the heart of the defence after being rested on Tuesday.

Zeki Celik, Ugurcan Cakir and Dorukhan Tokoz are among those also pushing for starts for Turkey.

Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Moris; Martins, Chanot, Carlson, Pinto; Barreiro, Pereira, Olesen; Sinani, Rodrigues, Sanches

Turkey possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Soyuncu, Kadioglu; Tokoz, Calhanoglu; Under, Dervisoglu, Sinik; Dursun

We say: Luxembourg 0-2 Turkey

Despite starting their Nations League campaign so excellently so far, Luxembourg are unlikely to pick up a third positive result when they welcome Turkey on Saturday.

The step up in quality compared to their recent opponents should prove too much for the hosts, and if Turkey can put in another comprehensive display, they should stroll to a comfortable victory here.

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

Written by
Matthew Tranter

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