GREECE are looking to return to winning ways as they square off against Malta in an international friendly on Tuesday. Malta are often no match for the Greeks, who are expected to claim the upper hand here.
Malta are still regarded as one of the whipping boys in European football as they are generally no match for the rest of the teams. They have picked up just one win from their last 10 matches, suffering seven defeats in that run.
The Maltese have fallen to quite a few one-sided defeats in recent times like the 4-0 loss to England. Michele Marcolini’s men will head into Tuesday’s clash off the back of a 7-1 defeat to Czech Republic in their previous friendly.
Having just narrowly missed out on the European Championship, Greece are aiming to get their act together ahead of the UEFA Nations League in September. They suffered a 2-1 defeat to Germany in their previous friendly despite taking the lead through Giorgios Masouras.
The good news for Greece is that the result was only their second defeat in the last eight matches. Among the wins for Nikolaos Papadopoulos’ team is a 5-0 hammering of Kazakhstan and a 2-0 victory over Republic of Ireland, while they have also kept five clean sheets in that run.
How the bookies view it: Leaning overwhelmingly Greek
Greece have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 1/3 by bet365 to claim the win. An unlikely victory for Malta is valued at 11/2 while a draw is set at odds of 15/4.
Head to head: Greece all the way
Greece have only lost once to Malta, having claimed seven wins and three draws from 11 previous matches. However, both teams battled to a 2-2 scoreline in a friendly back in November 2022.
Players to watch: Bakasetas the key man
Anastasios Bakasetas is often involved in most of Greece’s attacking play and has scored in two of the last four matches. The attacker was also on target in the last meeting with Malta and is priced at 7/4 by bet365 to find the bet once again.
The Greeks also have some quality at the back with Kostantinos Mavropanos often impressive in the heart of the defence. Having kept five clean sheets in the last eight matches, a repeat could be considered at 10/11 by bet365.
Probable line-ups
Fotis Ioannidis only lasted 10 minutes in the defeat to Germany and is unlikely to feature on Tuesday, with Vangelis Pavlidis expected to lead the line for the Greeks. Dimitris Kourbelis could also be handed a start in midfield after featuring off the bench last time out.
Joseph Mbong was sent off for Malta last time out against Czech Republic and is set to miss Tuesday’s clash. Alexander Satariano could feature from the start after making a second half appearance.
Greece: Vlachodimos, Rota, Mavropanos, Hatzidiakos, Giannoulis, Siopis, Kourbelis, Massouras Bakasetas, Tzolis, Pavlidis
Malta: Bonello, Borg, Pepe, Borg, Guillaumier, Pisani, Teuma, Camenzulli, Satariano, Reid, Mbong
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Greece’s recent defensive record, they could be backed to earn a win to nil at 6/5 with bet365. Having claimed a few one-sided victories lately, a -1 handicap could also be considered at evens with bet365.
With Greece likely to be dominant on Tuesday, they could be backed to score in both halves at 11/10 with bet365.
This International Friendly match between Malta and Greece will be played on Jun 11, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Malta vs Greece prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
