Saturday's loss to Albania ended Belarus' good run of six straight games without defeat. I expect their strikers to be more focused this time against favored Finland and find the net. BTTS is the best bet.
Key Stats
- Finland have failed to keep a clean sheet in 8 of their last 9 home matches.
- Finland have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 5 matches against Belarus.
- Joel Pohjanpalo has scored 6 goals in his last 5 matches for club and country.
- Belarus have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 4 matches.
H2H – Five Previous Meetings
Three out of five head to head matches between these nations ended in draws, while Finland won on two occasions, including the most recent duel in 2018.
Finland Scored for Fun on Saturday
Finland started the new UEFA Nations League season in best way possible, claiming a commanding 7-0 victory against San Marino on Saturday.
Joel Pohjanpalo (three goals) and Adrian Svanback (one goal, two assists) played key roles in this convincing win. The Finns ended the clash with 3.84-0.04 xG, 75% possession and 23-1 shots.
This also put an end to their two-game losing run which started with a 4-0 defeat against Germany in late May, while a couple of days later, they were also beaten by Hungary 2-1 in Budapest.
Belarus off to a Disappointing Start
Even though their results in international friendlies earlier this year were promising, Belarus didn't offer much in the UNL opening round, suffering a 2-0 loss to Albania in Tirana.
They conceded both goals in the first half, allowed 20 shots total, while Evgeniy Maleshevich missed a big chance to score a consolation goal in the second half.
Belarus have won both of their friendlies in March against Cyprus 1-0 and Armenia 2-1, then extended the winning streak with a 4-1 win over Syria in early June. A couple of days later, they drawn against Burkina Faso 2-2.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
Finland (4-3-3) Lukas Hradecky; Adam Stahl, Leo Vaisanen, Ville Koski, Ryan Mahuta; Glen Kamara, Kaan Kairinen, Leo Walta; Robin Lod, Joel Pohjanpalo, Benjamin Kallman
The home side have to manage without several squad options due to injury setbacks, as Niklas Pyyhtia, Naatan Skytta, and goalkeeper Jesse Joronen are officially ruled out.
The home side have to manage without several squad options due to injury setbacks, as Niklas Pyyhtia, Naatan Skytta, and goalkeeper Jesse Joronen are officially ruled out.
Belarus (5-4-1) Pavel Pavlyuchenko; Denis Polyakov, Zakhar Volkov, Sergey Politevich, Kirill Pyachenin, Roman Yuzepchuk; Max Ebong, Nikita Korzun, Alexander Kaplenko, Vladislav Klimovich; Vitaly Lisakovich
Vitaly Lisakovich should be the biggest threat for Finland's goal, scoring seven goals in his 28 appearances for the national team.
Vitaly Lisakovich should be the biggest threat for Finland's goal, scoring seven goals in his 28 appearances for the national team.