Czechia will be looking to build on their win over Ukraine as they host Albania in Group B1 in the UEFA Nations League. The Albanians can be tricky opponents but buoyed by the home support, Czechia will be confident of claiming the upper hand here.
Czechia head into Friday’s clash off the back of a 3-2 victory over Ukraine last time out in the UEFA Nations League. They were made to work hard by the Ukrainians with Pavel Sulc netting a brace while Tomas Soucek was also on target.
It Was a solid return to winning ways for Czechia, who were beaten 4-1 by Georgia in their opening fixture. The result also highlights a solid home record for Ivan Hasek’s men, who are unbeaten in their last nine matches in front of their fans, claiming eight wins in that run.
Albania are coming off a 1-0 home defeat to Georgia in their previous Nations League fixture. They were second best throughout the encounter and failed to muster a single attempt on target.
Manager Sylvinho will be disappointed with the result as Albania had begun their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Ukraine. However, the defeat is consistent with their recent results as they are winless in seven of their 10 matches across all competitions, losing five times in that run.
How the bookies view it: Czechia to prevail
Czechia have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 4/6 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Albania is valued at 9/2 by Betfred, who is also offering odds of 11/4 for a draw.
Head to head: Evenly split fixtures
Czechia and Albania have claimed one win each and one draw from three previous matches. However, the Albanians picked up a 3-0 win when both teams met during the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Players to watch: Watch out for Chory
Tomas Chory has caught the eye for Sparta Prague in recent weeks and will be looking to carry that form into the national team. The forward will be the one to watch for Czechia and is priced at 15/8 by Betfred to get on the score sheet.
Jasir Asani often looks lively in attack for Albania and was on target in the win over Ukraine. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime on Friday at 17/5 with Betfred.
Probable line-ups
Czechia will be without some key players with the likes of Patrik Schick and Antonin Barak not included in the squad. Martin Vitik should line up in defence while Chory is expected to lead the nine once again.
Albania have not called up attacking duo Rey Manaj and Armando Broja. Myrto Uzuni is likely to lead the line on Friday while captain Elseid Hysaj is expected to continue in defence.
Czechia: Kovar, Coufal, Vitik, Krejci, Zmrzly, Soucek, Provod, Sulc, Hlozek, Cerny, Chory
Albania: Strakosha, Mitaj, Kumbulla Ismaijli, Hysaj, Asllani, Ramadani, Hoxha, Bajrami, Asani, Uzuni
Anything else catch the eye?
It was a five goal thriller in Czechia’s previous fixture and another high-scoring encounter could be on the cards. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 5/2 by Betfred, who is offering 10/11 for over 2.5 goals while both teams could be backed to score at 10/11.
Given the minimal odds for a straight Czechia victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 7/4 by Betfred.
This UEFA Nations League match between Czechia and Albania will be played on Oct 11, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Czechia vs Albania prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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