UEFA Nations League

[monks data]

Nations League | League B

Oct 14, 2020 at 7.45pm UK

City Arena Trnava

Slovakia
2 - 3
Israel

Hamsik (16'), Mak (38')
Duda (21')

FT(HT: 2-0)

Zahavi (68', 76', 89')
Dgani (63')

Preview: Slovakia vs. Israel - prediction, team news, lineups

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter

Published: October 12 2020 | 11:26

Last updated: June 5 2024 | 13:46

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's UEFA Nations League clash between Slovakia and Israel, including team news and predicted lineups.

Slovakia and Israel will both be looking to recover from respective weekend defeats in the UEFA Nations League when the two sides lock horns at the Anton Malatinsky Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The hosts suffered a 1-0 loss to Scotland in their last outing, while Israel were put to the sword by the Czech Republic in their third fixture of the 2020-21 Nations League campaign.

Match preview

Slovakia celebrate beating the Republic of Ireland on penalties in their Euro 2020 qualifying playoff semi-final on October 8, 2020 © Reuters

Slovakia and Scotland both headed into their Nations League showdown following dramatic penalty shoot-out victories in the Euro qualification playoffs, but it was the Tartan Army who took the spoils at the weekend.

Despite seeing a number of senior players being forced to withdraw following coronavirus concerns, Scotland marched to a 1-0 victory courtesy of a second-half winner from Lyndon Dykes, leaving Slovakia firmly rooted to the bottom of the table in Group B2.

Pavel Hapal will undoubtedly be concerned about relegation to League C should Slovakia not manage to register their first win in midweek, with the Falcons losing to Scotland and the Czech Republic either side of a 1-1 draw with Israel thus far.

Of course, coming out on top in their European Championships qualifying playoff final against Northern Ireland is likely to be of greater importance to Hapal, and with that fixture still a month away, the Slovakia manager will be hungry for success when his side play host to fellow strugglers Israel in midweek.

Israel manager Willibald Ruttensteiner pictured in October 2020 © Reuters

Indeed, Israel were unable to recover from their disheartening Euro playoff semi-final exit to Scotland as they succumbed to a 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic at the weekend.

An own goal from Joel Abu Hanna and a Matej Vydra strike paved the way for a routine victory for the Locomotive against Willibald Ruttensteiner's men, who managed to pull one goal back through Eran Zahavi - his 21st for the national team.

Consolation goals mean very little for an Israel side who are still winless in the 2020-21 Nations League, however, with the Blue and Whites boasting just two points from a possible nine heading into Wednesday's showdown.

An immediate return to League C is very much a worry for Israel, although Ruttensteiner's side ought to feel capable of getting off the mark against an equally out-of-sorts Slovakia outfit in the midweek round of fixtures.

However, Israel are winless in their five meetings with Slovakia down the years, drawing two and losing three against the Falcons since 1994.

Slovakia Nations League form: LDL
Slovakia form (all competitions): LWLDWL

Israel Nations League form: DDL
Israel form (all competitions): LLDDLL

Team News

Milan Skriniar warms up for Inter on July 16, 2020 © Reuters

Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar was forced to withdraw from the squad after testing positive for coronavirus, but Peter Pekarik could come back into the fold after being given the night off against Scotland.

However, Matus Bero was stretchered off after 20 minutes at the weekend and will most likely cede his place in midfield to Ondrej Duda, but Jaroslav Mihalik will miss out following a positive COVID-19 test.

With a quick turnaround in fixtures to contend with, further changes for Wednesday's clash could see the likes of Juraj Kucka and Denis Vavro featuring from the first whistle.

With regards to Israel, Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton is another player who has contracted coronavirus and is now in self-isolation, while fellow Bhoys man Hatem Abd Elhamed is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test after feeling unwell following Sunday's defeat.

Abu Hanna had an evening to forget against the Czech Republic - scoring an own goal before being hauled off at half time - and Sun Menahem could therefore start this one.

Munas Dabbur will also be looking to partner Zahavi in attack over Shon Weissman, who is still awaiting his first goal for the national team.

Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Kuciak; Pekarik, Vavro, Valjent, Holubek; Hamsik, Kukca; Schranz, Duda, Haraslin; Bozenik

Israel possible starting lineup:
Marciano; Dasa, Tibi, Yeini, Arad, Menahem; Natcho, Golasa; Solomon; Zahavi, Dabbur

SM words green background

We say: Slovakia 2-1 Israel

Both countries have seen their squads affected by coronavirus cases but will be equally desperate to register their first Nations League victory of the current campaign. However, Israel's recent results across all competitions makes for bleak reading for the visitors, so we are backing Slovakia to come out on top in Wednesday's encounter.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win 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.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Slovakia win with a probability of 41.41%. A win for Israel had a probability of 31.56% and a draw had a probability of 27%.

The most likely scoreline for a Slovakia win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.33%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.57%) and 2-0 (7.58%). The likeliest Israel win was 0-1 (9.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.81%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 1.8% likelihood.