Slovakia are one step away from qualifying for next year’s European Championship as they host Iceland in a Group I fixture on Thursday. The Slovakians only need to avoid defeat here but given their record at home, they should get the better of their visitors.
With Portugal running away with everything in Group I, the real competition is in the race to secure the second automatic qualification spot. Slovakia are currently one step away from reaching next year’s tournament in Germany and only need a point from their final two fixtures.
It has been a good enough campaign for Slovakia, who have claimed five wins from eight matches, only losing to group winners Portugal. Francesco Calzona’s men picked up a 1-0 victory in Luxembourg last time out in the qualifiers with David Duris getting the only goal.
Slovakia have maintained a solid home record in the qualifiers as they are unbeaten in three of their last four matches in front of their fans. That record had been driven by a watertight defence that has kept three clean sheets in that run.
While Slovakia have it in their hands to qualify, Iceland may have to rely on other results to stand a chance. Sitting fourth on the standings, six points off the qualifying places, the first task for the Icelanders is to win on Thursday to remain in contention.
Iceland have not been at their best throughout the qualifiers, picking up just three wins from their eight matches so far. However, they appear to have found their feet as the campaign reaches its climax and are unbeaten in the last three matches. Age Hareide’s men have picked up two wins in that run and claimed a 4-0 victory over Liechtenstein in their previous fixture.
A closer look at Iceland's recent good form shows that they have been at home in the last three matches as their major problem has been a dodgy away record. They have lost two of their last three qualifying matches on their travels and were beaten 3-1 by Luxembourg in their previous fixture.
How the bookies view it
Slovakia have been installed as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 4/5 by William Hill. A victory for Iceland is valued at 4/1 by bet365 while Unibet is offering odds of 13/5 for a draw.
Head to head
Slovakia have a 4-1 advantage with one draw from six previous matches against Iceland. The Slovaks claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in June with Juraj Kucka among the goals.
Players to watch
Slovakia have multiple goal threats but Robert Mak has caught the eye and will be the one to watch on Thursday. The attacker has scored in the last two home matches and is priced at 11/4 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Iceland also have attacking quality of their own and Alfred Finnbogason could be the one to watch in Thursday’s clash. The striker has found the net in two of the last three qualifying matches and is priced at 7/2 by 10bet to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
Slovakia and Iceland can hold their own going forward and with both teams on target in the reverse fixture, a repeat could be considered at evens with William Hill. The reverse fixture produced over 2.5 goals which is priced at 11/10 with Unibet while over 3.5 goals is valued at 14/5 by BoyleSports.
The Slovakians scored in both halves in the reverse fixture and Thursday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 21/10 by Unibet.
This Euro 2024 match between Slovakia and Iceland will be played on Nov 16, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Slovakia vs Iceland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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