MX23RW : Monday, November 18 07:17:03| >> :120:34958:34958:
[monks data]
Malta national football team
Nations League | League D
Jun 12, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
 
San Marino national football team

Malta
1 - 0
San Marino

Muscat (50')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Lunadei (67'), Battistini (86'), Rossi (90+4')

Preview: Malta vs. San Marino - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Nations League clash between Malta and San Marino, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Malta will be expected to bounce back from their disappointing defeat in midweek when they welcome San Marino to the Ta' Qali National Stadium on Sunday.

The hosts lost out on a potential promotion decider with Estonia in Group D2 of the UEFA Nations League on Thursday, whilst the visitors fell to a narrow defeat in an international friendly against Iceland on the same evening.


Match preview

 Malta coach Devis Mangia on March 27, 2021© Reuters

After both Malta and Estonia saw off San Marino with ease in their opening fixtures of Group D2, the two evenly-matched sides went head to head in Ta' Qali on Thursday.

Despite matching their opponents as expected though, Malta fell to a late defeat after Henri Anier provided the Estonians with all three points with a winner four minutes into second-half stoppage time.

As a result, Malta are now playing a chasing game in this three-team group of the 2022 Nations League campaign, and they close out this quartet of June internationals with a simple task on paper in the form of San Marino.

Although their opponents came ever so close to pulling off a shock in a narrow 3-2 triumph back in 2012, there were no doubts when Devis Mangia's side strolled to a comfortable 2-0 victory in San Marino back on June 5.

A similarly comfortable result will be expected from the home faithful again on Sunday, which would provide Malta with the advantage over Estonia again ahead of the September internationals, albeit their divisional rivals would have a game in hand to play against San Marino themselves.

Malta's Alexander Satariano celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on March 27, 2021© Reuters

Meanwhile, San Marino put in an admirable display to push Iceland all the way on Thursday evening.

Fabrizio Costantini's side held their own for much of the encounter on home soil, and certainly had a couple of chances to find the back of the net themselves.

Iceland may well have rested several players for the international friendly, but they remained huge favourites nevertheless, and San Marino came away with a respectable 1-0 defeat in the end.

However, it is now four games without a goal for Sunday's visitors, and 18 defeats in a row since the goalless draw with Gibraltar back in 2020.

Costantini's men will certainly not be deterred in their efforts to pick up a shock result however, and they will rally together to go again on Sunday as they search to close out the summer with a memorable display.

Malta Nations League form:
  • W
  • L

Malta form (all competitions):
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • L

San Marino Nations League form:
  • L
  • L

San Marino form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L


Team News

Malta's Joseph Mbong celebrates scoring against Russia on March 24, 2021© Reuters

Malta boss Mangia will have to assess the fitness of defender Jean Borg ahead of Sunday's clash, after the 24-year-old was forced off with a knock in the closing stages of Thursday's defeat to Estonia.

Zach Muscat is in line to deputise should he miss out, after coming off the bench to replace him in midweek, and would likely line up alongside Steve Borg and Enrico Pepe in Mangia's back three.

The likes of Dunstan Vella, Luke Gambin and Luke Montebello will be looking to push for starts should the boss opt to rotate his 11 for the final game of four summer fixtures.

As for the visitors, Costantini may opt to stick with his 4-5-1 setup that worked so well for long periods against Iceland in midweek, meaning Andrea Grandoni and captain Mirko Palazzi should keep their places as full-backs in a flat back four, rather than wing-backs in a 3-5-1-1 setup used so frequently.

Matteo Vitaioli will be looking to make his 77th appearance for his country on Sunday, with the 32-year-old expected to lead the line ahead of Nicola Nanni and Adolfo Hirsch once again.

After Aldo Simoncini earned a spot between the posts on Thursday, Elia Benedettini should return in goal for the trip to Malta.

Malta possible starting lineup:
Bonello; S Borg, Pepe, Muscat; J Mbong, Guillaumier, Vella, Camenzuli; Teuma; Montebello, Degabriele

San Marino possible starting lineup:
Benedettini; Grandoni, Cevoli, Rossi, Palazzi; Zafferani, Censoni, A Golinucci, Mularoni, Rinaldi; Vitaioli


SM words green background

We say: Malta 2-0 San Marino

Although Malta are not the most formidable side to face the minnows of San Marino, they remain huge favourites to come out with a comfortable victory on Sunday.

There are no signs to suggest that the hosts will struggle in their task, and we are going for a repeat of the 2-0 scoreline earned away from home against their opponents on June 5.


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 3.5 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 3.5:data


ID:487771:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect10219:

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: Malta vs San Marino

Malta
87.2%
Draw
4.3%
San Marino
8.5%
47
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Spain's Alvaro Morata celebrates scoring a goal with teammates on March 29, 2022
Read Next:
Sunday's Nations League predictions including Portugal vs. Switzerland
>
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
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal541013
2 Croatia Croatia52127
3 Poland Poland51134
4 Scotland flag Scotland51134

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany541013
Q Netherlands Netherlands52218
3 Hungary Hungary51225
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina50141

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain541013
2 Denmark Denmark52127
3 Serbia Serbia51225
4 Switzerland Switzerland50232

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic52218
2 Georgia Georgia52127
3 Albania national flag Albania52127
4 Ukraine Ukraine51225

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Turkey Turkey532011
2 Wales flag Wales52309
3 Iceland Iceland52127
4 Montenegro Montenegro50050

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden541013
2 Slovakia Slovakia531110
3 Estonia Estonia51134
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan50141

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Romania Romania440012
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo43019
3 Cyprus Cyprus52036
4 Lithuania Lithuania50050

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland531110
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria52218
3 Belarus Belarus51316
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg50232

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
2 San Marino flag San Marino31114
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein30212

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta32016
3 Andorra flag Andorra30030


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!