Georgia will welcome Gibraltar to the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi for the first fixture of their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign on Thursday.

The hosts will be looking to claim their third successive victory on home soil, while the visitors are hoping to avoid a fifth successive defeat on the road.

Match preview

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Georgia failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup but they ended their qualification campaign on a high with back-to-back victories over Kosovo and Sweden.

The Crusaders have since extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to five matches after successive 1-0 friendly wins over Uzbekistan and Bosnia & Herzegovina were followed by a goalless draw away against Albania in March.

Former Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol, who took charge of the Georgian national team in February last year, will now be hoping his side can make a strong start to their Nations League campaign and better their efforts in 2020-21.

Georgia's last Nations League campaign saw them finish third in League C Group 2 behind North Macedonia and Armenia after drawing four of their six fixtures.

Sagnol and co will be confident of success in their opening game against Gibraltar, as they have won each of their previous four meetings against them by an aggregate score of 13-2.

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Gibraltar will be competing in League C Group D after securing promotion in the previous campaign with two victories and two draws against Lichtenstein and San Marino.

Julio Cesar Ribas's men were, however, unable to qualify for the 2022 World Cup as they were one of only two European nations, along with San Marino, who lost all 10 qualifiers.

Gibraltar knew that their hopes of reaching Qatar were extremely slim in a group containing the likes of the Netherlands, Turkey and Norway, and their chances of success in the 2022-23 Nations League could also prove challenging.

The visitors travel to Georgia on Thursday having won only one of their last 17 international away matches, but they have claimed seven points from a possible 12 available in their last four Nations League games on the road, including 1-0 wins over Armenia and Liechtenstein.

Team News

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Georgia's experienced defender Guram Kashia is set to partner Lasha Dvali at centre-back and they could be joined in the back four by full-backs Otar Kakabadze and Guram Giorbelidze.

Star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who scored a brace in the 2-0 win over Sweden last year, is expected to retain his place on the left flank, while Saba Lobzhanidze, Zuriko Davitashvili and Budu Zivzivadze are also set to occupy roles in the final third.

As for Gibraltar, Ribas is set to stick with a 5-3-2 formation, with 39-year-old captain Roy Chipolina expected to start alongside Scott Wiseman and Aymen Mouelhi at centre-back.

Liam Walker, Graeme Torrilla and Anthony Hernandez are the three most likely candidates to start in centre-midfield, while Wycombe Wanderers' Tjay De Barr could partner 40-year-old Lee Casciaro in attack.

Georgia possible starting lineup:
Loria; Kakabadze, Dvali, Kashia, Giorbelidze; Lobzhanidze, Aburjania, Kvekveskiri, Kvaratskhelia; Davitashvili; Zivzivadze

Gibraltar possible starting lineup:
Coleing; Sergeant, R. Chipolina, Wiseman, Mouelhi, Britto; Walker, Torrilla, Hernandez; Casciaro, De Barr

We say: Georgia 3-0 Gibraltar

Considering there are 118 places separating Georgia (85th) and Gibraltar (203rd) in the FIFA world rankings, the hosts will be regarded as the favourites for Thursday's contest.

Georgia have comfortably beaten Gibraltar in their previous four encounters against them and they should have no problems in securing victory in Tbilisi.

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