Slovakia will be aiming to return to winning ways in Group 1 of League C in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League when they make the trip to Azerbaijan on Monday night.
The visitors are currently second in the section, level on points (seven) with leaders Sweden, while Azerbaijan are at the bottom of the pile, yet to pick up a point from their three fixtures.
Match preview
Azerbaijan finished second in Group 3 of League C in the 2022-23 Nations League, three points behind the leaders Kazakhstan, so they narrowly missed out on promotion to League B.
The National Team have struggled to make their mark in the 2024-25 competition, losing all three of their matches to Sweden, Slovakia and Estonia, which has left them at the bottom of the section on zero points.
Fernando Santos took charge of the national side in June, but he has been unable to make his mark thus far, losing all three of his games at the helm, but Monday provides a new opportunity to put a win on the board.
Azerbaijan have only won twice in 2024, with their last success coming at home to Kazakhstan in a friendly on June 11, while their last competitive victory was a 3-0 success over Sweden last November.
The National Team have only ever beaten Slovakia on two occasions, including a 2-1 success in the Nations League back in September 2022, so they do have previous when it comes to recent wins over Monday's opponents.
Slovakia will be the favourites heading into Monday's contest, and they are under pressure to pick up a positive result, with the national side currently locked in a battle with Sweden at the top of Group 1 of League C.
The Falcons opened their 2024-25 Nations League campaign with successive wins over Estonia and Azerbaijan, before playing out a 2-2 draw with Sweden on Friday evening, which has left them second in the section on seven points.
Slovakia were actually 2-0 behind to Sweden on home soil, but a double from David Strelec proved to be enough for the hosts to secure a share of the spoils in what was an entertaining fixture.
Francesco Calzona's side were in action at Euro 2024, reaching the round of 16 for just the second time in their history, losing 2-1 to England after extra-time, having been moments away from a famous win over the Three Lions.
Slovakia also played in Division C of the 2022-23 Nations League, finishing third in Group 3, three points behind second-placed Azerbaijan during what was a disappointing campaign.
Team News
Azerbaijan head coach Santos is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the loss to Estonia, but it seems likely that there will be a couple of changes to the starting side.
Ceyhun Nuriyev and Mahir Emreli are pushing to break into the first XI on Monday night, and the pair could potentially be introduced into the team for what is likely to be a tricky fixture.
Emreli has scored six times for his country and is expected to support Renat Dadashov in the final third of the field.
As for Slovakia, head coach Calzona has big decisions to make all over the pitch due to the talent in his squad, with Robert Bozenik and David Duris among those left out of the XI against Sweden.
Strelec netted a brace last time out, so it will be incredibly difficult to drop him, while Milan Skriniar, Ondrej Duda and Stanislav Lobotka will again be notable inclusions for the visitors.
There is competition for spots in the final third of the field, but Tomas Suslov and Lukas Haraslin should keep their spots, while Laszlo Benes is again in line for a position in midfield.
Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Cannatov; Mammadov, B Huseynov, Krivotsyuk; A Huseynov, Nuriyev, Isaev, Cafarguliyev; Emreli, Dadashov, Bayramov
Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Duda, Lobotka, Benes; Suslov, Strelec, Haraslin
We say: Azerbaijan 0-2 Slovakia
Azerbaijan boss Santos will have a plan in mind to stop Slovakia, but the visitors have so much talent throughout their side, and we are struggling to see a scenario which does not involve Slovakia securing all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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