MX23RW : Friday, November 22 01:35:24| >> :600:139276:139276:
[monks data]
Kazakhstan national football team
Nations League | League C
Jun 3, 2022 at 3pm UK
 
Azerbaijan national football team

Kazakhstan
2 - 0
Azerbaijan

Aymbetov (50', 60')
Marochkin (36'), Akhmetov (38'), Kuat (90+4')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Silvestre (90+2')

Preview: Kazakhstan vs. Azerbaijan - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's Nations League clash between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan get their UEFA Nations League campaigns underway with a League C Group 3 fixture on Friday afternoon.

Both nations endured disappointing seasons during the last edition, Kazakhstan needing to come through the relegation playoffs to remain at the third tier.


Match preview

Azerbaijan coach Gianni De Biasi during the match on March 27, 2021© Reuters

Having finished bottom of their group during the last campaign, Kazakhstan found themselves involved in a two-legged playoff with Moldova to avoid dropping into the bottom tier of teams.

A fine comeback during the away first leg secured a 2-1 advantage ahead of the reverse fixture, only for Moldova to prevail 1-0 in the second half of the tie to set up a penalty shootout.

At one stage, Kazakhstan found themselves 3-1 down, but a miraculous turnaround saw them win 5-4, a result which felt important in the context of their progression as a team.

Nevertheless, the powers-that-be still made the decision to bring in a fresh face in the dugout, Magomed Adiyev being handed the reins as recently as last month.

Since the resumption of international football in September 2020, Kazakhstan have won just three of their 19 matches in all competitions.

Azerbaijan have also endured a bleak period with just two victories being recorded in 22 fixtures, the last of which came almost a year to the day in Belarus.

Gianni De Biasi will be hoping for the same result when the two nations meet again next week, but his initial focus will be on ending a 10-game winless streak.

In their last Nations League campaign, Azerbaijan finished just two points ahead of bottom-placed Cyprus, a run of three goalless draws in succession ensuring that they avoided relegation.

With goals having also not been scored in their recent defeats against Latvia and Malta, the onus will be on making improvements in that area of the pitch during their upcoming matches.

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

Azerbaijan form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • L


Team News

Kazahstan will make at least one change to the team which last faced Moldova with star man Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov not present in the squad.

Aybar Zhaksylykov appears most likely to come into the team in what may prove to be the only alteration to the starting lineup.

As for Azerbaijan, De Biasi must decide whether to stick with the first XI from the home defeat against Latvia at the end of March.

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Renat Dadashov got the nod on that occasion but with the 23-year-old still looking for his first international goal, Ramil Sheydayev may get the nod instead.

Kazakhstan possible starting lineup:
Shatskiy; Marochkin, Maliy, Alip; Bystrov, Vasiljev, Tagybergen, Kuat, Suyumbaev; Zhaksylykov, Aymbetov

Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Agayev; Salahly, Haghverdi, Mustafazada; Medvedev, Mahmudov, Silvestre, Qarayev, Bayramov; Nazarov, Sheydayev


SM words green background

We say: Kazakhstan 1-1 Azerbaijan

With Slovakia the clear favourites to top the group, neither of these sides can afford defeat in their opening fixture. A draw may not prove beneficial, especially for Kazakhstan, but we feel that a low-scoring stalemate is the most likely outcome on Friday.


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 over 1.5 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.Over 1.5:data


ID:487160:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6724:

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: Kazakhstan vs Azerbaijan

Kazakhstan
62.4%
Draw
29.7%
Azerbaijan
7.9%
101
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
England's Bukayo Saka looks dejected after missing a penalty against Italy in the Euro 2020 final on July 11, 2021
Read Next:
UEFA Nations League 2022-23 draw in full as England face Germany, Spain play Portugal
>
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
1.15am
Steelers
@
Browns
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

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

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

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

League B3

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

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

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

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


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!