Dutiful task for Slovenia
Slovenia await the kickers from Cyprus on the last matchday of the World Cup qualifiers. The home side’s chances of taking part in the World Cup have actually run out, but the third place in Group H, which is still attainable, may be enough for participation in the play-offs, because the leaders from Russia are banned from major sporting events such as the upcoming World Cup due to doping offences.
However, there is a possibility that the Russians will be admitted as a neutral team, as was the case at the last Olympic Games in Japan. Therefore, the chance for the Slovenians is no longer really big and for the guests from the island such thoughts are no longer an option anyway as they are bottom of the table.
For the match in Ljubljana between Slovenia and Cyprus, the forecast includes a win for the hosts without conceding a goal.
Slovenia – Statistics & current form
Slovenia have qualified for a World Cup twice in their history. Now the wish for a third strike is unlikely to come true. Coach Matjaz Kek’s team has simply not been consistent enough to qualify for the World Cup.
In addition, the results against the two top teams from Russia and Croatia were mostly disappointing. Only the Croatians were beaten at the start of the qualifiers, but the three other matches with these countries were all lost.
This made it clear that there is not enough playing class across the board for the top of the group.
Slovenia rely on home bonus
In the upcoming match, however, Slovenia can count on home advantage: Only the last group match on home turf against the Russians ended in defeat. It was the first defeat after a series of ten unbeaten games in front of a home crowd, and the aforementioned victory against the Croats at the start of the qualifiers was also achieved at home.
In view of this and the easy task that now lies ahead, the odds on a home win, including a break lead, in the match between Slovenia and Cyprus also offer value. Likewise, bets on a win for the home side in both halves of the match are also worth considering. This is supported by the fact that the attack has a lot of quality.
One example is Josip Ilicic, who has already scored four times in the current qualifying campaign. On top of that, the 33-year-old is also getting better and better at his club Atalanta Bergamo. This can be seen in his four goals in the past seven competitive games in Serie A and the Champions League
Hosts are doomed to win
With the home side level on points with third-placed Slovakia, only a win counts anyway and it should be as high as possible, as their rivals Malta are also a lightweight and currently have a slightly better goal difference.
Projected line-up of Slovenia:
Oblak – Balkovec – Mevlja – Bijol – Stojanovic – Gnezda Cerin – Stankovic – Kurtic – Lovric – Sesko – Sporar
Last matches played by Slovenia:
WM Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. H
11/11 2021 – Slovakia 2 – 2 Slovenia
10/11 2021 – Slovenia 1 – 2 Russia
10/08 2021 – Malta 0 – 4 Slovenia
09/07 2021 – Croatia 3 – 0 Slovenia
09/04 2021 – Slovenia 1 – 0 Malta
Cyprus – Statistics & current form
While their opponents have already appeared twice at a World Cup, Cyprus must continue to wait for that sense of achievement. Equal on points with Malta, the Cypriot national team only occupies the last place in the group.
Especially the offensive is a permanent problem with little hope for improvement: In the nine group games they have already played, they have scored only three goals – clearly the weakest result in Group H.
At the end of the day, the Cypriots are still at the bottom of the group.
The defence is also degenerating
Coach Nikos Kostenoglou is also increasingly dissatisfied with his defence. While two clean sheets were collected in the first three group games against Slovakia and their upcoming opponents, none were added in the last five group games. Moreover, 15 of the 19 goals conceded so far have been conceded in this flashback!
Cyprus’ away record is also particularly bitter: They have yet to pick up a point in their four away games and all three defeats have come without a goal of their own. Even the football dwarf from Malta finished off the Cypriots 3-0 in their home game and last Thursday they suffered a 6-0 defeat in Russia.
Predicted line-up of Cyprus:
Michail – Soteriu – Kousoulos – Laifis – Ioannou – Antoniou – Pittas – Kastanos – Artymatas – Papoulis – Sotiriou
Last matches played in Cyprus:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. H
11/11 2021 – Russia 6 – 0 Cyprus
10/11 2021 – Cyprus 2 – 2 Malta
10/08 2021 – Cyprus 0 – 3 Croatia
09/07 2021 – Slovakia 2 – 0 Cyprus
09/04 2021 – Cyprus 0 – 2 Russia
Slovenia – Cyprus Direct comparison / H2H balance
The last direct encounter took place in Cyprus last March and the footballers from the island achieved the only victory in World Cup qualifying so far. Thanks to that success, the visitors are unbeaten in three meetings (2-1-0). In their five previous meetings, they had not managed a single win (0-1-4).
The odds are nevertheless leaning heavily in favour of the home side for the upcoming edition at the Stožice Stadium in Slovenia against Cyprus.
Slovenia – Cyprus Tip
As just described, the hosts still have a score to settle with the Cypriots from the first leg. However, the chances that this will be settled are very good. After a respectable start to the World Cup qualifying campaign with four points from three games, the visitors’ performance steadily deteriorated.
Since their success against their upcoming opponents a good six months ago, they have not won a match and the 2-2 draw against Malta on the penultimate matchday was even the only draw within this review. For the match between Slovenia and Cyprus, the forecast therefore includes a home win to nil.
The hosts still have a small hope that, due to a possible exclusion of the Russians from the World Cup, even the third place in the group still brings participation in the playoffs and will therefore be highly motivated.
In addition, the Cypriots’ glaring weakness away from home speaks in favour of a home win and this should be on top of zero, because the guests arrive with the weakest offensive in the group. In fact, the attack has yet to score a single goal away from home. Bet365 offers odds of 1.80 on the match between Slovenia and Cyprus for this bet.
