Slovenia welcome Kazakhstan to Stadion Stozice for their second Group B3 fixture in the UEFA Nations League. Slovenia will be counting on their fine record in this fixture and with the Kazakhs struggling at the moment, a home win is expected on Monday.
Slovenia are coming off a 1-1 draw with Austria in their previous UNL fixture. They struck early in the first half through Benjamin Sesko’s penalty but were pegged back just before the half-hour mark.
That result means Slovenia are now unbeaten in their last 11 matches across all competitions. However, there have been too many draws in that run as Matjaz Kek’s men have been held in their last six fixtures.
Kazakhstan also head into Monday’s clash off the back of a draw as they were held 0-0 by Norway. They struggled to create much going forward, finishing with a single attempt on target and were also lucky at the back as the Norwegians were quite wasteful.
While the result extends Kazakhstan’s winless run to five matches, manager Stanislav Cherchesov will look at the positives of that draw. The Kazakhs had lost they previous four matches and will be keen to go on a positive run.
How the bookies view it: Slovenia highly fancied
Slovenia have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced 2/5 by Betfred. An unlikely victory for Kazakhstan is valued at 8/1 while Betfred is also offering odds of 100/30 for a draw.
Head to head: No problems for Slovenia
Slovenia have won the previous two meetings, doing the double during the Euro 2024 qualifiers, with both matches ending 2-1.
Players to watch: Sesko leads Slovenia’s attack
Sesko was on target for Slovenia last time out and will be the one to watch on Monday. With Andraz Sporar also featuring in attack, the Slovenians could be backed to produce over 1.5 goals at 4/6 with Betfred.
Kazakhstan may have looked off colour going forward in their previous fixture but they have shown some attacking verve in recent times. Maksim Samorodov and Ramazan Orazov will be the ones to watch and can lead the Kazakhs to over 0.5 goals at 11/10 with Betfred.
Probable line-ups
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak sat out Slovenia’s draw with Austria and could return to the starting line-up on Monday. Sporar and Sesko should continue in attack while Jaka Bijol is set to feature at the back.
Samorodov was a second half substitute for Kazakhstan last time out and could be handed a start up front alongside Abat Aymbetov. Orazov is expected to retain his place in midfield.
Slovenia: Oblak, Janza, Bijol, Drukusic, Brekalo, Lovric, Elsnik, Gnezda Cerin, Stojanovic, Sporar, Sesko
Kazakhstan: Shatskiy, Alip, Marochkin, Kasym, Bystrov, Chesnokov, Tagybergen, Zaynutdinov, Orazov, Aymbetov, Samorodov
Anything else catch the eye?
Slovenia and Kazakhstan have both been on target in their last two meetings and a repeat is priced at 11/8 by Betfred. Both meetings produced over 2.5 goals, which is priced at 11/10 by Betfred, who is also offering 11/4 for over 3.5 goals.
The Slovenians scored in both halves in the last meeting and a similar pattern is valued at 7/5 with Betfred. Given the minimal odds for a straight home victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 6/4 with Betfred.
This UEFA Nations League match between Slovenia and Kazakhstan will be played on Sep 9, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Slovenia vs Kazakhstan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
