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[monks data]
Slovenia national football team
Nations League | League B
Jun 2, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
Arena Petrol
Sweden national football team

Slovenia
0 - 2
Sweden


Stojanovic (37'), Zajc (41')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Forsberg (39' pen.), Kulusevski (88')
Olsson (43'), Krafth (83'), Kulusevski (85')

Preview: Slovenia vs. Sweden - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Nations League clash between Slovenia and Sweden, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Sweden head into their first UEFA Nations League fixture with Slovenia looking to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on a place at the World Cup.

The same applies to Slovenia, although the home side missed out on a place in the playoffs and have not played competitively since November.


Match preview

Sweden coach Janne Andersson on March 29, 2022© Reuters

Heading into November, Sweden were well on course to qualify automatically for the World Cup ahead of Spain, something which would have represented one of their biggest achievements in years.

Since then, however, it has been nothing but disappointment. Defeats to Georgia and Spain sent Sweden into the playoffs, where they subsequently lost to Poland in the final playoff contest.

Janne Andersson remains in charge of the team, understandably so after 12 wins from his last 18 games, but the long-serving boss needs to find a way of breathing some new life into their football.

Nevertheless, a group also involving Norway and Serbia means that Sweden will have to be at their best to stay competitive, and a crop of players which features some fresh faces might be exactly what they require.

Sweden head into this fixture having failed to score in normal time during their last four fixtures, the only strike during that period coming in extra time against Czech Republic.

From Slovenia's perspective, they are very much the minnows of the group, but Matjaz Kek may not mind as his team look to take the next step on the international stage.

Slovenia have always been able to pull off the odd impressive result in isolation, like they did by beating Croatia last year, but they have too often faltered in games in which they were fancied to win.

A run of matches against their upcoming rivals may be just what they need, with a home victory over Sweden giving them the springboard to act as surprise contenders for promotion to League A.

They currently find themselves on a four-match unbeaten streak, although that run of results includes draws with Slovakia and Qatar.

Slovenia form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D

Sweden form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L


Team News

Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek before the match on March 29, 2022© Reuters

Kek may be prepared to name the same starting lineup which earned a 1-1 draw against Croatia in a friendly in March.

That would see Middlesbrough forward Andraz Sporar retain his spot down the middle of the attack, and the inexperience trio of David Brekalo, Zan Karnicik and Gregor Sikosek stay in the team further back.

With Victor Lindelof out injured and Marcus Danielson having retired from international football, Sweden will make changes in the centre of defence.

Carl Starfelt and Joakim Nilsson may get the nod in their place, and further alterations could be made with Matthias Svanberg an option in midfield.

Manchester United youngster Anthony Elanga will likely remain among the replacements.

Slovenia possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Brekalo, Bijol, Blazic; Karnicik, Cerin, Kurtic, Sikosek; Zajc, Lovric; Sporar

Sweden possible starting lineup:
Olsen; Krafth, Starfelt, Nilsson, Augustinsson; Forsberg, Karlstrom, Olsson, Kulusevski; Quaison, Isak


SM words green background

We say: Slovenia 1-2 Sweden

This has all the makings of being a competitive fixture, particularly due to Slovenia possessing home advantage. However, Sweden need to kick-start their next cycle with victory in a tough group, leading us to predict a narrow win for the visitors.


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


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


ID:487109:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8147:
Written by
Darren Plant

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Game History

How you voted: Slovenia vs Sweden

Slovenia
16.2%
Draw
18.0%
Sweden
65.9%
167
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Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

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Q Italy Italy641113
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4 Israel Israel61144

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Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
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4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

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Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

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Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
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League B2

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Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

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Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
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League B4

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Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

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Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

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Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

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Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
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League C4

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Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
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League D1

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2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
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