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

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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.

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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.

Team News

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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

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.

Written by
Matthew Tranter

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