Albania Vs Iceland Match Analysis And Prediction

Republished By Plato

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Albania and Iceland go head to head in Group F of the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday, with this game essentially a dead rubber after Albania’s 2-1 defeat in Tel Aviv on Saturday saw Israel promoted to League A.

Edoardo Reja’s side travelled to Tel Aviv knowing that only a win would be good enough to kee alive their hopes of an unlikely promotion to the top tier of the Nations League.

However, after a goalless first half, Shon Weissman broke the deadlock less than a minute into the second half, but Myrto Uzuni looked to have salvaged a point for the visitors with only two minutes to play.

However, Israel were not to be deterred in their quest for promotion, with Tai Baribo scoring an injury-time winner to send Bloomfield Stadium into reptures.

For Albania, there is no risk of relegation as Russia have already been demoted following the military invasion of Ukraine, but they will want to defeat Iceland and finish second in the group.

Iceland may have been even more devastated than Albania when Baribo’s strike found the back of the net, as they ended their own chances of leapfrogging Israel into top spot in Group F.

At 1-1, Iceland would have travelled to Tirana with the prospect of victory providing them with an instant return to League A, having been relegated from that section last time out without a single point on their name.

However, regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, they will compete in League B once again, which is perhaps a better level for a nation that has consistently punched above its weight considering fewer than 400,000 people live within the country.

After defeating Venezuela 1-0 in a friendly in Austria on Thursday, Iceland will feel confident of avoiding defeat and holding onto second place in the group in the process.

Albania vs Iceland head to head

These two nations have previously met on eight occasions across all competitions, where Albania have claimed three victories while Iceland have won four, and they have drawn once. Albania have scored 10 goals and conceded 11. In their last five meetings, Albania have won one, Iceland three with one draw.

Albania 1-2 Iceland 12/10/12

Iceland 2-1 Albania 10/09/13

Iceland 1-0 Albania 08/06/19

Albania 4-2 Iceland 10/09/19

Iceland 1-1 Albania 06/06/22

Albania latest home form

Albania have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They played out a goalless draw with Estonia in their last home game in a friendly. In their last five matches, they have scored two goals and conceded three.

Albania 0-1 Poland 12/10/21

Albania 1-0 Andorra 15/11/21

Albania 0-0 Georgia 29/03/22

Albania 1-2 Israel 10/06/22

Albania 0-0 Estonia 13/06/22

Albania latest away form

Albania have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their eight most recent matches. They lost 2-1 to Israel in their last away game in the Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded 10.

Hungary 0-1 Albania 09/10/21

England 5-0 Albania 12/11/21

Spain 2-1 Albania 26/03/22

Iceland 1-1 Albania 06/06/22

Israel 2-1 Albania 24/09/22

Iceland latest home form

Iceland have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They drew 2-2 with Israel in their last home game in the Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and also conceded nine.

Iceland 4-0 Liechtenstein 11/10/21

Iceland 1-1 Uganda 12/01/22

Iceland 1-5 Korea Republic 15/01/22

Iceland 1-1 Albania 06/06/22

Iceland 2-2 Israel 13/06/22

Iceland latest away form

Iceland have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Venezuela 1-0 in their last away game in a friendly. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded eight.

Finland 1-1 Iceland 26/03/22

Spain 5-0 Iceland 29/03/22

Israel 2-2 Iceland 02/06/22

San Marino 0-1 Iceland 09/06/22

Venezuela 0-1 Iceland 22/09/22

Albania news

Albania will have to make do without the services of Keidi Bare and Endri Cekici due to injury, leaving the hosts a little light in central midfield.

Head coach Edoardo Reja could hand Myrto Uzuni a starting role in attack after his goalscoring impact off the bench in the game against Israel.

Iceland news

Iceland had an extra two days of recovery compared to their opponents, so they could name the same starting XI which defeated Venezuela on Thursday.

As such, captain Aron Gunnarsson is most likely to start and will move onto 99 caps as he chases down 100 appearances for his country.

Prediction and Odds

While Albania would wish to end the Nations League campaign with a win, neither side have much to play for, so they may be content with avoiding defeat.

Iceland have drawn all three of their matches in this campaign, and we expect a similar result on Tuesday to extend that run.

Odds: 1 2.30 X 2.02 2 2.22