Will Lewandowski send Poland into the play-offs?
Robert Lewandowski is arguably the best attacker in the world at the moment. In the World Cup qualifiers, however, the Pole is not listed in the top areas of the scorers’ list. That could change this Friday, as the Polish national team takes on Andorra. That almost sounds like a shooting fest that the Bayern striker could well pull off on his own.
But more important than personal success is the team’s victory, because this Friday the Poles could at least clinch second place and thus reach the play-offs. Theoretically, they could even overtake England at the top of the standings. The Three Lions currently have 20 points, the Poles are right behind with 17 points.
Albania will arrive in England with 15 points and still have hopes of finishing second. Should the Albanians fail to win at Wembley Stadium and Poland take the expected victory in the Pyrenees, Polska would certainly be second. At least in the match between Andorra and the Poles, a prediction on a success for the visitors should be clear.
The best betting providers are therefore also very cautious with their quotes on a Polish victory. It will hardly be worth placing a bet on three points for Lewandowski and Co. alone. In our opinion, betting on the duel between Andorra and Poland should be more in the direction of over-goals or handicaps.
Andorra – Statistics & current form
The Andorra team is a conspiratorial bunch. There just aren’t that many footballers in the small Pyrenean state and so the current team, with few exceptions, has been playing together in this constellation for many years. Every now and then, there is a respectable success and so it is quite easy to live with being a footballer for the Tricolors.
Positive Tendency
Although coach Koldo’s team has won only two of their last 21 internationals, they have also lost only three of their last six matches. It has to be said, however, that the schedules have been kind to the Andorrans, with a draw against Gibraltar and two wins against San Marino. But that’s not enough to set your sights on odds of a home win between Andorra and Poland.
After all, a 5-0 defeat to England in October was followed by a 3-0 away win in San Marino. Goals from Sergio Moreno, Cucu and Marc Pujol gave Andorra the highest international win in the federation’s history. Perhaps this success has now given the Tricolors a broad chest.
It is difficult to say what coach Koldo will come up with in terms of personnel, and it should hardly matter, especially for the Poles. Most Andorrans play either in the lower divisions in neighbouring Spain or in the national league. Purely in terms of quality, it can hardly be enough to hold a candle to the Poles on Friday.
Predicted line-up of Andorra:
Alvarez – Cervos, Alavedra, Llovera, San Nicolas – Vales, Moreno, Alaez, Martinez – Cucu, Pujol – Coach: Kodro
Last matches played by Andorra:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. I
10/12 2021 – San Marino 0 – 3 Andorra
10/09 2021 – Andorra 0 – 5 England
09/08 2021 – Hungary 2 – 1 Andorra
09/05 2021 – England 4 – 0 Andorra
09/02 2021 – Andorra 2 – 0 San Marino
Poland – Statistics & current form
The Poles were expecting a lot at the World Cup in Russia. However, the Polish team was knocked out of the preliminary round there, just as they were at the recent Pan-European European Championship. So the Polish team has not been convincing in recent tournaments. In the qualifying rounds, however, they did really well most of the time.
Poland in strong form
The Poles are currently unbeaten in five matches and have won four of them. In general, there has only been one defeat in the current qualifying campaign, and that was at Wembley Stadium in London, where it is quite possible to lose. Conversely, there is no alternative to predicting a clear away win before the match between Andorra and Poland.
Poland celebrated two victories in October. The 5:0 win at home against San Marino could safely be written off as a fulfilment of duty. Three days later, the success in Albania was extremely important. In a turbulent match, the Poles won 1-0 after a goal by Karol Swiderski and thus moved past the Albanians in the rankings.
Before the last two qualifying matches, the Poles have to mourn some injuries. Among others, Adam Buksa, Dawid Kownacki and Bartosz Kapustka are missing. But the core of the team is together, also because Arkadiusz Milik has returned to the squad from Olympique Marseille. Therefore, the Polish team will be close to its best line-up on Friday.
Poland’s expected line-up:
Szczesny – Dawidowicz, Bednarek, Glik – Krychowiak, Moder – Puchacz, Zielinski, Jozwiak – Lewandowski, Milik – Coach: Sousa
Last matches played by Poland:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. I
10/12 2021 – Albania 0 – 1 Poland
10/09 2021 – Poland 5 – 0 San Marino
09/08 2021 – Poland 1 – 1 England
09/05 2021 – San Marino 1 – 7 Poland
09/02 2021 – Poland 4 – 1 Albania
Andorra – Poland Direct comparison / H2H-balance
The Andorrans and the Poles have only met twice before today. The red and whites have won both duels and have not conceded a goal either time. The first encounter took place in a test match in June 2021. At that time, Robert Lewandowski was among the scorers in a 4-0 victory.
At the end of March, the two teams faced each other in the first leg of the current World Cup qualifier. in Warsaw, the Poles won, somewhat more narrowly than expected, 3-0. this time, Robert Lewandowski struck twice and has thus scored three of the Poles’ seven goals against Andorra. Karol Swiderski was also successful.
Andorra – Poland Tip
Andorra have lost only three of their last six matches. In the successful games, the opponents were Gibraltar and twice San Marino, but you can still talk about the best phase of the Tricolors. Of course, this will hardly help to achieve a successful result against the strong Poles, i.e. to score again.
The Poles are in good form, they haven’t lost in five games and have come out on top four times. In addition, there have been two clear victories against Andorra so far. There should be no doubt about the Polish team’s success. The only question is which handicap is the best bet in the clash between Andorra and the Poles.
We think they might score for the first time against the Poles, but assume an away win. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on more than 3.5 goals between Andorra and Poland.
