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Slovakia national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 26, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
 
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team

Slovakia
2 - 0
Bosnia H'vina

Mak (13'), Haraslin (40')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Preview: Slovakia vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Slovakia will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing goalless draw with Luxembourg when they host Bosnia-Herzegovina in the second round of Euro 2024 qualifiers on Sunday.

Following an impressive 3-0 victory over Iceland on Thursday, Bosnia-Herzegovina find themselves joint-top of Group J alongside Portugal.


Match preview

Juraj Kucka in action for Slovakia in June 2021© Reuters

Despite the absence of captain and leader Milan Skriniar, Slovakia were expected to kick-start their qualifying campaign with a straightforward win against Luxembourg on home soil, but the minnows had other ideas.

Slovakia racked up 18 shots while enjoying the lion's share of possession on Thursday, limiting the visitors to just two attempts on target, but the team containing big-name players such as Napoli's Stanislav Lobotka and Newcastle United's Martin Dubravka failed to make their dominance count.

Francesco Calzona's men have now drawn each of their last four games across all competitions, with a UEFA Nations League draw against Belarus preceding friendly draws with Montenegro and Chile at the end of 2022.

When you look at the bigger picture, Slovakia have failed to win any of their previous six outings, while the Falcons lost three of their six Nations League matches to finish behind Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in a reasonably weak group last year.

It is worth remembering, however, that Slovakia customarily punch above their weight for a relatively small nation, qualifying for the 2010 World Cup before reaching the past two European Championships, so Calzona's men will be hopeful of igniting their campaign before too long.

Bosnia-Herzegovina's Sead Kolasinac is taken off injured in November 2021© Reuters

By contrast, Bosnia-Herzegovina could barely have wished for a better start to their qualifying campaign, as they secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Iceland to send out a message to their Group J rivals.

AC Milan's Rade Krunic got the ball rolling with a first-half brace, while Red Bull Salzburg's Amar Dedic completed the scoring midway through the second half, gifting new head coach Faruk Hadzibegic the perfect start following his appointment in January.

Despite seeing just 37% of the ball on home soil, Bosnia-Herzegovina continuously threatened Iceland's goal, registering 13 shots throughout the contest while restricting their visitors to very few clear-cut chances.

Thanks to Thursday's triumph, the Dragons have now won three of their last four games across all competitions, with five victories, two draws and a solitary defeat coming in their previous eight outings.

Better still, Bosnia-Herzegovina have kept a clean sheet in four of their past five wins, preventing Luxembourg, Romania and Montenegro from scoring before laying down a marker with another shutout victory to kick off their Euro 2024 qualification journey.

Slovakia Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Slovakia form (all competitions):


Bosnia-Herzegovina Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Bosnia-Herzegovina form (all competitions):



Team News

Milan Skriniar celebrates scoring for Slovakia in March 2021© Reuters

Weakened by the retirement of iconic midfielder Marek Hamsik, who waved goodbye to international football following his 136th appearance back in November, Slovakia's midfield is now marshalled by Stanislav Lobotka.

The 28-year-old has featured in all of Napoli's Serie A matches this season, playing a pivotal role in his club's unstoppable title charge, with Juraj Kucka and Ondrej Duda expected to join Lobotka in Slovakia's engine room.

With key centre-back Milan Skriniar out injured, the Falcons are likely to start with Norbert Gyomber and Lubomir Satka in the middle of the defence, ahead of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.

Bosnia-Herzegovina head coach Faruk Hadzibegic managed the minutes of fatigued players against Iceland, leaving Edin Dzeko – the nation's all-time leading scorer – on the bench.

Inter Milan's Dzeko is expected to return to the starting XI on Sunday, joining Ermedin Demirovic in attack, while Smail Prevljak looks set to drop to the bench.

Having kept a clean sheet in midweek, Ibrahim Sehic should keep his place between the sticks, with the centre-back trio of Anel Ahmedhodzic, Hrvoje Milicevic and Sinisa Sanicanin lining up ahead of the Konyaspor goalkeeper.

Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Pekarik, Gyomber, Satka, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Suslov, Polievka, Haraslin

Bosnia-Herzegovina possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Ahmedhodzic, Milicevic, Sanicanin; Dedic, Hadziahmetovic, Tahirovic, Krunic, Gazibegovic; Dzeko, Demirovic


SM words green background

We say: Slovakia 0-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina

While Slovakia have failed to win any of their last six games, Bosnia-Herzegovina have won three of their previous four, so we expect the Dragons to build on Thursday's triumph over Iceland with another clean-sheet victory.



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


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Game History

How you voted: Slovakia vs Bosnia H'vina

Slovakia
25.4%
Draw
16.4%
Bosnia-Herzegovina
58.2%
122
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 Napoli's Stanislav Lobotka in action with Eintracht Frankfurt's Sebastian Rode on March 15, 2023
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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


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