Will Slovakia secure third place in Malta?
Neither Malta nor Slovakia have anything left to play for in the tenth and final Group H match of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers on Sunday. Both teams have long since lost any chance of reaching the finals in Qatar and are currently already busy putting their respective squads in good shape with a view to the future.
The Maltese went down in style against Croatia at home in Attard on Thursday evening. The Reds lost their home match 1:7, which is why it is not surprising that the odds are clearly against the football dwarf in the run-up to the match between Malta and Slovakia, which is also the shooting gallery of Group H with a total of 24 goals conceded.
However, Slovakia did not cover themselves with glory either. At home against Slovenia, the Sokoli did come back from a deficit twice (final score: 2:2). But considering that they were outnumbered for a good half hour, they should have been able to do better. Also because both teams were defensively careless, we see the greatest value in Malta vs. Slovakia in betting on more than 2.5 goals.
By the way, bets can also be placed with a free bet or a betting voucher.
Malta – Statistics & current form
The Malta Football Association is actually one of the oldest associations in the whole of Europe. However, the Malta Football Association only joined FIFA in 1959 and first participated in World Cup qualifying rounds in 1974.
So far, the Ħomor (the Reds) have had little success, as no Maltese side has ever qualified for a major tournament, a situation that will not change this year.
Malta – Statistics & current form
The Malta Football Association is actually one of the oldest associations in the whole of Europe. However, the Malta Football Association only joined FIFA in 1959 and participated in World Cup qualifying rounds for the first time in 1974.
So far, the Ħomor (the Reds) have had little success, as no Maltese side has ever qualified for a major tournament, a situation that will not change this year.
Drawn 2-2 with Slovakia in the first leg
This saw the Maltese go down to defeat in fine form against Croatia on Thursday night.
After Thursday night’s 7-1 home defeat to Croatia, the Falcons are bottom of Group H with just five points out of a possible 27. Only the home game against Cyprus was won 3-0 before a 2-2 draw in the second leg.
The fifth and final point, however, came from the away game in Slovakia, where the Reds surprisingly led 2-0 after 19 minutes on Matchday 2, but could not go beyond the 2-2 draw in the end.
Only one win in last twelve internationals
In total, the Maltese have won just one of their last twelve international matches, which means that despite the respectable result from the first leg, they go into the home game on the final matchday of the 2022 World Cup Quali as underdogs.
However, there is nothing at stake for the visitors at the end of the qualifying phase. At the very least, the Reds should not be ruled out of scoring again, even though their offence has gone without a goal of its own in three of the last five international matches.
Predicted line-up of Malta:
Bonello – Camenzuli – Pepe – Agius – Shaw – Attard – Teuma – Kristensen – Degabriele – Mbong – Montebello
Last matches played in Malta:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. H
11/11 2021 – Malta 1 – 7 Croatia
10/11 2021 – Cyprus 2 – 2 Malta
10/08 2021 – Malta 0 – 4 Slovenia
09/07 2021 – Russia 2 – 0 Malta
09/04 2021 – Slovenia 1 – 0 Malta
Slovakia – Statistics & current form
Though the Slovakian national football team qualified for the last two European Championships in a row. However, the nation that once belonged to Czechoslovakia has only participated in World Cups in South Africa in 2010.
The Sokoli will not play a role in Qatar 2022 either, having won only two of their nine matches in Group H of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers so far.
Only two wins among the nine matches in the 2021 World Cup Quali
On Thursday night, the Sokoli drew 2-2 with Slovenia, consolidating third place for Štefan Tarkovič’s troops. Nevertheless, eleven points out of a possible 27 were clearly not enough to take on Russia or Croatia, who will fight for the group victory in a parallel match on Sunday.
Accordingly, the guest game in Malta is a good chance for Slovakia to introduce young players like Tomas Suslov or David Strelec to the first team and to build up a strong squad for the EURO 2024, in which the Slovaks want to participate for the third time in a row.
Is coach Tarkovič rotating in Malta?
The Malta vs Slovakia prediction must take into account that coach Štefan Tarkovič may rotate and give late call-ups such as 28-year-old Vernon De Marco their international debut.
Captain and top scorer Marek Hamsik is likely to play at least one half of the match. But the fact that one or the other player from the second row will probably get some time favours betting on a high-scoring match.
Predicted line-up of Slovakia:
Rodák – Holúbek – Skriniar – Satka – Pekarik – Lobotka – Haraslín – Hamsik – Bero – Mak – Almási
Last matches played by Slovakia:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. H
11/11 2021 – Slovakia 2 – 2 Slovenia
10/11 2021 – Croatia 2 – 2 Slovakia
10/08 2021 – Russia 1 – 0 Slovakia
09/07 2021 – Slovakia 2 – 0 Cyprus
09/04 2021 – Slovakia 0 – 1 Croatia
Malta – Slovakia Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 0 – 2 – 7
The two nations have faced each other nine times so far and Malta are still waiting for their first win against Slovakia. In the first leg, too, a 2-0 lead was ultimately only enough for only the second draw against the Sokoli (final score: 2-2).
Malta – Slovakia bet
Malta vs Slovakia prediction must take into account the way the Reds went down at home to runners-up Croatia on Thursday night (final score: 1:7). A number of defensive lapses led to a fireworks display of chances, which should also help the Slovakians, who have a strong finishing touch, to score.
Because the Sokoli also acted erratically in defence on Thursday evening despite being outnumbered and because it can be assumed that one or the other player from the second row will get his chance in Malta, there is a lot to be said for a high-scoring match.
We recommend betting on over 2.5 goals, for which Malta vs. Slovakia betting odds of 2.70 are available.
