Belarus and Slovakia will kick off the new UEFA Nations League campaign on Friday, when they square off in Serbia.
The visitors find themselves in League C after their relegation last term, while Belarus will again aim for promotion after just falling short last time around.
Match preview
Belarus' push to rise to League B in the UEFA Nations League in the 2020 campaign went down to the final day, as they topped the group after five games with three wins and 10 points.
They headed into the last game against Albania, with the winner sealing top spot, and the White Wings fell to a narrow defeat away from home, as Max Ebong's 80th-minute goal was not enough to trigger a turnaround after a Sokol Cikalleshi brace and a Rey Manaj goal had their hosts 3-2 up.
That saw Georgy Kondratiev's men drop from top spot and miss out on promotion by a point, before they had to endure a tough World Cup Qualifying campaign, picking up just three points from eight outings.
The White Wings most recently returned to action in March with a pair of international friendlies against India and Bahrain, and they were able to put consecutive victories together, firstly triumphing 3-0 in Riffa before Andrey Solovey hit the only goal in a 1-0 win over the latter.
They will now look to begin the new continental term in a positive manner with what would be an impressive win to kickstart their bid to rise to the second tier of the Nations League this time around.
Their visitors, meanwhile, will aim to bounce back after their relegation and kick off with a victory in Serbia.
Slovakia had a tough Nations League campaign in 2020, beginning life in group B with defeats to Czech Republic and Scotland and a loss and a draw against Israel.
A 1-0 win over Scotland kept them in contention to survive on the final day, but they went on to lose the reverse fixture against Czech Republic, dropping to League C as a result, before they fell short in World Cup Qualifying.
Two draws and a defeat left them unable to catch second-placed Russia, before Stefan Tarkovic's men were at least able to finish on a high with a 6-0 thrashing of Malta as Ondrej Duda hit a hat-trick alongside a brace from Albert Rusnak and a Vernon De Marco goal.
Now on the back of a 2-0 win away at Finland in a friendly in March, and coming in as favourites, the Falcons will look to begin the new campaign on the front foot with a positive result.
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Team News
Belarus are unable to call on key forwards Vitaly Lisakovich and Maksim Skavysh, both of whom are absent from the international squad.
Andrey Solovey should again lead the line as a result, having netted his second goal for the White Wings in his sixth cap against Bahrain in March.
Pavel Sedko will also play an important attacking role, likely venturing forward from the midfield.
Slovakia will be captained by Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar, who has turned out 53 times for the national team.
He could again partner David Hancko at the heart of the defensive line, with Hertha Berlin right-back Peter Pekarik boasts plenty of international experience.
Juraj Kucka, who recently announced his departure from Watford, should continue to operate in the engine room, while Ondrej Duda is a major threat going forward.
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Pavlyuchenko; Shvyatsow, Yudenkov, Palyakow; Pyachenin, Selyava, Yablonsky, Ebong, Bakhar; Sedko; Solovey
Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Pekarik, Hancko, Skriniar, Valjent; Lobotka, Kucka; Duda, Hrosovsky, Rusnak; Weiss
We say: Belarus 0-2 Slovakia
Slovakia boast a squad more than capable of topping their Nations League group this time around, and we back them to outclass the White Wings and get off to a winning start.
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