Georgia host Luxembourg in their UEFA Euro 2024 playoff semi-finals with both teams looking to secure a place in the tournament proper. While the Luxembourgers have the quality to make things difficult, Georgia often do their best work in front of their fans and should have the edge on Thursday.
Georgia finished fourth in Group A of the qualifiers but secured their place in the playoffs due to their performance in the UEFA Nations League. Their record of two wins from eight matches in the qualifiers was not particularly inspiring but they will still fancy their chances on Thursday.
The Georgians head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 3-1 defeat to Spain in their final Group A fixture. They went into the break level following Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s first half effort but eventually succumbed to the superior quality of the Spaniards.
One positive for Georgia is that they tend to do their best work in front of their fans. Willy Sagnol’s men are unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 home matches across all competitions, claiming seven wins in that run.
Luxembourg caught the eye during the qualifiers as they claimed five wins from 10 matches to finish third in Group J. They claimed a few notable scalps during the campaign and did the double over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Luxembourgers will travel to Georgia with confidence having won their last two qualifying matches. They triumphed 4-1 over the Bosnians before picking up a 1-0 win in Liechtenstein.
Luxembourg are also decent on their travels with two wins and as many draws from their last five away matches. The only defeat for Luc Holtz’s men in that run was a humiliating 9-0 thrashing in Portugal.
How the bookies view it
Georgia have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 4/5 by Coral to claim the win. A victory for Luxembourg is valued at 4/1 by Boylesport while a draw is set at 5/2 by William Hill.
Head to head
Georgia have a 2-1 advantage with one draw from four previous matches against Luxembourg. The most recent meeting was a friendly in 2018 which ended 1-0 in favour of Luxembourg.
Players to watch
Georges Mikautadze is likely to lead the line for Georgia on Thursday and has found the net five times in the last four national team appearances. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 2/1 by bet365.
Gerson Rodrigues often carries the attacking threat for Luxembourg and could be the one to watch on Thursday. The forward has five goals in his last five international appearances and is priced at 4/1 by Paddy Power to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have attacking quality and could be backed to score at 6/5 with William Hill. Georgia have seen over 3.5 goals in their last four matches and a repeat is priced at 7/2 by bet365 while Unibet is offering 7/5 for over 2.5 goals.
Georgia have scored in both halves in two of their last three home matches and could be set for a similar pattern at 12/5 with bet365.
This Euro 2024 match between Georgia and Luxembourg will be played on Mar 21, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Georgia vs Luxembourg prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.