Azerbaijan will be bidding to bounce back from a shock defeat when they host Belarus in a friendly on Tuesday night.
The home side will enter the contest off the back of a 3-0 loss to Haiti, which made it six defeats from their last seven matches in all competitions, while Belarus were 5-0 winners over Tajikistan last time out.
Match preview
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Azerbaijan had an incredibly difficult 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign, picking up just one point from their six matches in Group 1 of League C to finish bottom of the section, scoring just three times and conceding 17.
Fernando Santos's side were back in action against Haiti on Saturday, and they suffered a surprise 3-0 defeat, with that result making it six losses from their last seven matches in all competitions during a poor run.
The National Team have not managed to post a win since June 11, when they beat Kazakhstan, and they have another three friendlies against Belarus, Latvia and Hungary before beginning their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
Azerbaijan will compete in Group D alongside Iceland and Ukraine, and they are aiming to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time in their history, so there is plenty on the line.
The National Team have faced Belarus on six previous occasions, recording three wins in the process, including a 2-0 success when the two teams locked horns in the Nations League in June 2022.
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Belarus, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 5-0 victory over Tajikistan, with all five of their goals coming in the second period, including three in the final six minutes of the fixture.
Carlos Alos's side have only been beaten in one of their last seven matches in all competitions, and they only lost once in their 2024-25 Nations League campaign, with the team competing in Group 3 of League C.
A return of seven points from six matches was enough to finish third in the section, four points ahead of fourth-placed Luxembourg, so they have kept hold of their spot in League C for the next campaign.
Belarus will begin their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign against Greece on September 5, and they are aiming to secure a spot in the finals of the competition for the first time in their history.
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Team News
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Azerbaijan head coach Santos will make changes from the side that took to the field for the friendly with Haiti last time out.
Mahir Emreli is the leading goalscorer in the squad, finding the back of the net on six occasions in 51 caps, and there will be a spot in the final third of the field for the 27-year-old.
Renat Dadashov has three goals in 34 caps, and the 25-year-old should also be in the XI, while there will be a position in the middle of the Azerbaijan midfield for Aleksey Isayev.
As for Belarus, there is set to be a spot at the back for Sergey Politevich, with the 34-year-old in line to win his 51st cap.
Max Ebong has five goals for his country, including a strike off the bench in the team's five-goal success over Tajikistan, and he is now set to come into the XI for the visitors on Tuesday night.
Vitaly Lisakovich has a record of seven goals in 23 caps for Belarus, and the forward should also start, with head coach Alos likely to line his side up in a 4-4-2 formation.
Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Magomedaliyev; Guseynov, Mustafazade, Mammadov, Celik; Bayramov, Isayev, Camalov, Kokcu; Emreli, Dadashov
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Pavlyuchenko; Politevich, Zabelin, Pigas, Kasarab; Ebong, Gromyko, Bocherov, Kontsevoy; Lisakovich, Barkouski
We say: Azerbaijan 1-2 Belarus
Azerbaijan are a difficult team to back at the moment due to their struggles, and Belarus are a talented outfit with a lot of dangerous players in the final third of the field - it should be tight in terms of the scoreline, but we are expecting Belarus to emerge victorious.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
