Azerbaijan – Estonia : Preview & Prediction
Although it is early days on the road to UEFA Euro 2024, Azerbaijan’s quest to finally qualify for a first major tournament has gotten off to the worst possible start after resounding 4-1 and 5-0 defeats to Austria and Sweden, respectively. Perhaps those scorelines are not too surprising given how Azerbaijan’s attempts to qualify for the last World Cup and Euros went, as in both campaigns they failed to record a single win (E2, P14).
However, this qualifying campaign promised to be different, as the nation ranked #124 in the FIFA Ranking came in on the back of a run of five consecutive wins, albeit against lower-ranked opponents than their first two Group F opponents. Still, four of those five wins came against teams with a higher FIFA Ranking, so bookmakers have sided with them as favorites when Estonia, ranked #108 in the FIFA Ranking, visits the Dalga Arena.
The Estonian side also got off on the wrong foot in their own quest for an opening berth in a major tournament, falling by a much more respectable score of 2-1 to Austria. As a result, the two matches between these nations are expected to be more decisive in avoiding last place in Group F than in influencing a hypothetical qualification. It is Estonia who have the mental edge in clashes between the two after having lost just one of the previous seven meetings between them (G3, E4).
Thomas Häberli’s men will hit the road looking to continue the decent form they have shown in their last few matches on rival soil, having not lost in five of their last eight away games (G3, E2, P3). Doing so here would see them already match, if not better, the points they achieved in the last Euro qualifying campaign, where they managed just one point overall (P7).
Players to watch: Azerbaijan captain Emin Mahmudov has scored his team’s first goal in all but one of his nine international scoring games. Meanwhile, Estonia’s Rauno Sappinen has scored five of his last six international goals away from home, so he will be hoping to continue that streak here.
Fast Fact: Only one of Azerbaijan’s last 15 international matches has seen more goals scored in the first half than the second.
Azerbaijan – Estonia : Betting Tips
Azerbaijan – Win Odds: 2.25
