A conciliatory end to qualifying for the Greeks?
The encounter between Greece and Kosovo on Sunday evening in Group B is naturally overshadowed by the parallel match between Spain and Sweden. While the two group favourites are battling it out for the direct ticket to Qatar, the only thing at stake in the aforementioned clash at the Olympic Stadium in Athens is the “golden pineapple”.
Despite this, both teams naturally want to finish the qualification process successfully. For the Kosovars in particular, it would certainly be very helpful if they could finally achieve a sense of achievement after their recent negative results. The bookmakers are rather critical of this endeavour and are offering far lower odds on a home win ahead of the Greece vs. Kosovo match.
This assessment is primarily based on the fact that the visitors have played a rather disappointing qualifying campaign so far and have already finished bottom of the group before the last matchday. In addition, for the Greece vs. Kosovo prediction, it must also be taken into account that the Ethniki have delivered good matches at home and, with their own fans behind them, are quite rightly treated as favourites.
Greece – Statistics & current form
The Greeks could almost have tipped the scales on Thursday evening to decide the winner of Group B. They were defeated at home. In front of their home crowd, however, the 2004 European champions conceded a narrow 1-0 defeat that also ended any hopes of their own participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
After 90 hard-fought minutes, disappointment outweighed the result, but coach John van’t Schip’s men can be proud of their performance. After all, the Greeks only allowed three shots on goal and once again underlined the enormous defensive quality that has already distinguished them throughout the entire qualifying campaign. Only seven goals conceded in as many games is a relatively good figure. Especially when you consider that they only conceded more than one goal in their 2-0 defeat in Sweden.
Who will follow in the footsteps of top-scorer Bakasetas?
Given the stability against the ball and the overall decent performances at home, where the aforementioned defeat to Spain was the first since summer 2019, there is a lot to be said for betting on the home win between Greece and Kosovo in our eyes.
On the positive side, the home advantage will certainly give the hosts the edge in terms of motivation. On the other hand, the absence of the captain and probably most important offensive player Bakasetas, who has been directly involved in eight goals this international year but is now suffering from knee oedema, continues to weigh heavily on their side. Manolis Siopis will also have to sit out due to a yellow suspension. Perhaps this will give youngster Tziolos a chance to make his mark on the international stage. The 19-year-old Norwich City winger is considered one of the most promising talents in the country of the former European champions.
Predicted line-up of Greece:
Vlachodimos; Androutsos, Goutas, Tzavellas, Tsimikas, Giannoulis; Tzolis, Siopis, Bouchalakis, Mantalos; Douvikas
Last matches played by Greece:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. B
11/11 2021 – Greece 0 – 1 Spain
10/12 2021 – Sweden 2 – 0 Greece
10/09 2021 – Georgia 0 – 2 Greece
09/08 2021 – Greece 2 – 1 Sweden
09/05 2021 – Kosovo 1 – 1 Greece
Kosovo – Statistics & current form
Naturally, the Kosovars had flirted in the run-up to this qualifying round with perhaps achieving one of the top two places in their group as a positive surprise. However, the national team of the still relatively young UEFA member came down to earth relatively quickly.
They have lost five of their seven matches so far in the World Cup qualifiers. The only wins came in Georgia (1:0) and at home against Greece (1:1). With a total of four points, it is already clear before the last matchday that the Kosovars will finish last in the group. In the wake of the disappointing performances, the Swiss coach Challandes had to leave his post in October. His successor is Primoz Gliha, who most recently coached Slovenia’s U21s.
First competitive match under the new coach
The 54-year-old’s record so far is not really positive, however, as his debut a few days ago was a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Jordan, in which the south-eastern Europeans lacked just about everything needed to compete at this level. Not least because of this, a prediction on the guest on Sunday evening between Greece and Kosovo is also associated with an enormous risk.
Those who nevertheless prefer to bet on the number of goals should keep an eye on the odds on a maximum of two goals between Greece and Kosovo. On the one hand, because in almost all of the Greek qualifying matches the mark of 2.5 goals was not broken. On the other hand, because the Kosovars only managed four goals in the entire course of the qualifiers. Rashica and Co. did not manage more than one goal in any of the seven matches.
Predicted line-up of Kosovo:
Muric; Vojvoda, Rrahmani, Fazliji, Aliti; Halimi, Zhegrova, Berisha; Shala, Muriqi, Rashica
Last matches played by Kosovo:
Friendly match
11/10 2021 – Kosovo 0 – 2 Jordan
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. B
10/12 2021 – Kosovo 1 – 2 Georgia
10/09 2021 – Sweden 3 – 0 Kosovo
09/08 2021 – Kosovo 0 – 2 Spain
09/05 2021 – Kosovo 1 – 1 Greece
Greece – Kosovo Direct comparison / H2H balance
All three of these head-to-head duels are from the past two years, so they certainly serve as a pointer. Two of these three matches ended in a draw. Greece came out on top once. In total, only five goals were scored in 270 minutes played, which reinforces our additional recommendation of the under bet. In the first leg of the current qualifying campaign, the Kosovars were able to equalise in the 90th minute to make it 1-1 and thus mark the final score.
Greece – Kosovo Tip
Sunday evening’s qualifying match between Greece and Kosovo no longer offers any great sporting excitement. Both teams will have to watch the 2022 World Cup in front of their home sets. Nevertheless, the teams have of course set their sights high at the end.
The Greeks want to continue their good performance, while the guests from Southeast Europe want to get to know their new Slovenian coach. On Thursday, that went completely wrong on his debut. They suffered a 2-0 defeat against Jordan, which is certainly one of the reasons why the betting odds are clearly in favour of the hosts in the clash between Greece and Kosovo.
Hellas are also favourites in this match, and rightly so in our eyes. The higher individual quality, the home advantage and the good form make a home win quite likely. Consequently, we bet on an easy three-goal win for the home side between Greece and Kosovo. At Bwin we get 1.70 at the top and risk a stake of six units for this.
