Luxembourg – Liechtenstein : Preview & Prediction
After just two games of this UEFA European Championship qualifying cycle, the prospect of a first major tournament already looks bleak for both Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Neither team has scored, though Luxembourg at least avoided defeat in a 0-0 draw with Slovakia, only to come back to earth thanks to a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Euro 2016 champions Portugal.
Perhaps avoiding finishing last in the group is the best Luxembourg can hope for, especially since they have not won more than one Euro Qualifying Playoff match in a qualifying campaign this century. Breaking that fact here means winning this match for the first time (E1, P3), but the ‘Red Lions’ have lost four consecutive home knockout games and conceded 13 goals in that span, so confidence is unlikely to be sky-high despite being clear favorites heading into this clash.
Liechtenstein suffered the worst start of any team in this knockout cycle, with a 4-0 loss to Portugal followed by a 7-0 thrashing of Iceland during two matches under interim coach Rene Pauritsch. That extended their losing streak to 15 games, while they managed to score in only one of those matches. With that form, avoiding last place in Group J would be an achievement for new coach Konrad Fünfstück, especially since the principality has only finished at the bottom of a knockout group table once in its history (during Euro 2016 qualification).
A glimmer of hope can be found in that their last win actually came in Luxembourg in October 2020, but it’s been all doom and gloom away from home since then, with Liechtenstein winless in their next 14 such matches (E2, P12). They also haven’t won in 27 international matches overall (E3, P24), so the Blue-Red will surely be pessimistic about the end of that streak as they look for what would only be an historic sixth win in Euro Qualifiers.
Players to watch: Luxembourg attacker Danel Sinani has nine international goals to his name, with the team winning six times (E1, P0) when the Norwich City man appears on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Liechtenstein captain Nicolas Hasler is the microstate’s top active scorer (five), with his last two goals coming in the team’s previous two victories — against San Marino and Luxembourg in 2020.
Fast Fact: Liechtenstein averages more than 3.0 goals conceded per game in its Euro qualifying history (3.11).
Luxembourg – Liechtenstein : Betting Tips
OVER 2.5 GOALS Odds: 2.25
