MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 05:56:29| >> :600:140088:140088:
[monks data]
Azerbaijan national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Jun 17, 2023 at 5pm UK
Dalga Arena
Estonia national football team

Azerbaijan
1 - 1
Estonia

Krivotsyuk (62')
Bayramov (72')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Sappinen (27')
Mets (42'), Kait (90+2')

Preview: Azerbaijan vs. Estonia - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Azerbaijan and Estonia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Azerbaijan welcome fellow Group F minnows Estonia to Dalga Arena on Saturday as both sides look to enhance their chances of qualifying for Euro 2024.

With Belgium, Sweden and Austria leading the way in Group F, Azerbaijan and Estonia will view their clashes against each other as must-win games.


Match preview

Azerbaijan coach Gianni De Biasi on March 24, 2023© Reuters

It would not be unfair to say that Azerbaijan made a woeful start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign back in March, suffering heavy defeats to both Austria and Sweden while conceding nine goals.

After enduring a 4-1 defeat to Austria, Milli Komanda suffered a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Sweden, meaning that only Liechtenstein head into the third round of qualifiers with a poorer defensive record than Azerbaijan.

Gianni De Biasi's side experienced a 13-game winless run between June 2021 and June 2022 before ending the previous year with five successive victories, claiming UEFA Nations League wins over Belarus, Slovakia and Kazakhstan before notching friendly victories against Moldova and North Macedonia.

However, Azerbaijan were brought back down to earth by Austria and Sweden, with March's thrashing highlighting the gulf in quality between Milli Komanda and the top teams in the group.

It is worth remembering that Azerbaijan drew one and lost seven of their eight Euro 2020 qualifiers before posting the same record during qualification for the 2022 World Cup, so De Biasi's men will be desperate to improve this time around.

Estonia's Rauno Sappinen celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on March 27, 2023© Reuters

Estonia, on the other hand, have played just the one Euro 2024 qualifier so far, but the Sinisargid find themselves above Azerbaijan thanks to their superior goal difference, with Belgium and Sweden only three points ahead.

Despite seeing just 34% of the ball against Austria back in March, a first-half goal from Rauno Sappinen looked set to hand Estonia a famous victory in Linz, only for the hosts to score two late goals and snatch the points.

In January, Thomas Haberli's side picked up a couple of positive friendly results, holding Iceland to a 1-1 draw before defeating Finland 1-0, and they also suffered a narrow 1-0 friendly defeat to Hungary in March, proving that Estonia are capable of giving Europe's stronger sides a run for their money.

In terms of the bigger, the Sinisargid have lost just two of their previous 10 matches across all competitions, picking up five wins and three draws in the process, in addition to four clean sheets for good measure.

After taking a solitary point from a possible 24 during Euro 2020 qualification, Estonia claimed four points as they finished second from bottom in their 2022 World Cup qualifying group, marking a slight improvement while achieving something to build on.

Azerbaijan Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Azerbaijan form (all competitions):


Estonia Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Estonia form (all competitions):



Team News

Austria's Christoph Baumgartner in action with Estonia's Karol Mets on March 27, 2023© Reuters

Gianni De Biasi will likely deploy a 4-3-3 formation on Saturday, with Ramil Sheydayev and Toral Bayramov joining Grasshopper Zurich striker Renat Dadashov in Azerbaijan's forward line.

Only a handful of players in Azerbaijan's squad play their club football outside of their homeland, with defender Anton Kryvotsyuk – who belongs to South Korean side Daejeon Citizen – expected to partner Qarabag FK's Bahlul Mustafazada at centre-back.

As for Estonia, 21-year-old Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein will start between the sticks on Saturday, while the visitors' three-man backline will include St Pauli defender Karol Mets.

Captain Konstantin Vassiljev is in line to make his 151st international appearance this weekend, with the 38-year-old expected to join Mattias Kait and Martin Miller in midfield.

Having scored three goals in his last six international appearances, Rauno Sappinen will continue to lead the line for Estonia, but he will not be joined by fellow forward Sergei Zenjov, who remains on the sidelines due to injury.


Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Balayev; Haghverdi, Mustafazada, Kryvotsyuk, Cafarguliyev; Mahmudov, Almeida, Isayev; Bayramov, Dadashov, Sheydayev

Estonia possible starting lineup:
Hein; Baranov, Tamm, Mets; Teniste, Vassiljev, Kait, Miller, Lukka; Sorga, Sappinen


SM words green background

We say: Azerbaijan 0-1 Estonia

Given that Estonia pushed Austria all the way in their opening qualifier, we expect the visitors to claim a narrow victory over Azerbaijan, who have already conceded nine goals across two defeats this campaign.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 2.5:data


ID:516305:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11677:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Azerbaijan vs Estonia

Azerbaijan
41.1%
Draw
21.4%
Estonia
37.5%
56
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
France's Dayot Upamecano celebrates scoring their second goal with Kylian Mbappe and Randal Kolo Muani on March 24, 2023
Read Next:
Monday's European Championship Qualifying predictions including Ireland vs. France
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Vikings
@
Bears
6pm
Lions
@
Colts
6pm
Patriots
@
Dolphins
6pm
Buccaneers
@
Giants
6pm
Chiefs
@
Panthers
6pm
Titans
@
Texans
6pm
Cowboys
@
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!