The top two in Group H of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers have already been decided, so Slovakia and Slovenia will only be playing for pride when they meet on Thursday. A thrilling contest could be on the cards here but Slovakia are likely to have the edge given their fine record at home.
Slovakia earned an impressive 2-2 draw in Croatia in their previous qualifying fixture. They twice took the lead through Ivan Schranz and Luka Haraslin but were pegged back both times by the Croats.
While the Slovaks will take some pride from their performance in Croatia, they have not had the best qualifying campaign. Sitting seven points behind the Croats in the second place with only six available to play for, Stefan Tarkovic’s men are only playing for pride on Thursday.
Despite having no chance of qualifying, Slovakia will still be keen to end their campaign on a high. They have claimed just two wins in the qualifiers, both of which have come at home, including a 2-1 victory over Group H leaders Russia back in March.
Slovenia are also sitting seven points off the playoff place and have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar. They suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Russia in their previous fixture with Josip Ilicic getting their only goal.
Matjaz Kek’s men are level on 10 points with Slovakia and will also want to end their campaign on a positive note. However, while the Slovaks have only lost twice in the qualifiers, Slovenia have suffered four defeats from eight matches.
Three of Slovenia’s four defeats in the qualifiers have come on the road with their only victory away from home, a 4-0 triumph over the group whipping boys Malta.
How the bookies view it
Slovakia have the upper hand among the bookies at 5/4 with Unibet while a victory for Slovenia is priced at 3/1 with Skybet. A draw is set at odds of 28/13 with SBK.
Head to head
Slovenia have a 3-2 edge with three draws from eight previous matches against Slovakia. Both teams played out a 1-1 draw in the first meeting back in September but Slovakia claimed a 1-0 victory the last time they hosted this fixture during the qualifiers for the Russia 2018 World Cup.
Players to watch
Luka Haraslin has been in good form for Sparta Prague lately and was also on target last time out against Croatia. The striker can be tipped to find the net on Thursday at 15/4 with bet365.
Josip Ilicic remains the biggest attacking threat for Slovenia and has scored three times in his last two qualifying matches. The Atalanta forward could be worth a punt into score anytime at 3/1 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Slovakia saw over 3.5 goals in their previous qualifying fixture and a repeat is priced at 21/4 by Unibet. Over 2.5 goals can also be considered at 15/8 with betfair while both teams could be backed to score at 13/10 with Unibet.
Slovakia opened the scoring last time out against Croatia and could be tipped to score first on Thursday at 17/20 with Sporting Index.
This World Cup match between Slovakia and Slovenia will be played on Nov 11, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Slovakia vs Slovenia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
