Poland vs Romania Predictions
Poland host Romania on Friday, with both sides looking to bounce back from Nations League defeats.
Neither team has kept many clean sheets in the past year, and that pattern should continue in Warsaw.
BTTS is my best bet.
Goals Likely in Warsaw
- Poland have seen BTTS in 8 of their last 10 matches (competitive fixtures)
- Poland conceded 1+ goals in 7 of their last 8 matches
- Poland have seen BTTS in their last 2 home matches against Romania
- Romania have seen BTTS in their last 4 matches
- Romania conceded 1+ goals in 11 of their last 12 matches
Poland Hold Recent H2H Advantage
Poland and Romania will meet for the first time since 2017. Poland won their last three encounters, including a 3-0 win in Bucharest in 2016.
Robert Lewandowski's hat-trick helped them to a 3-1 victory in Warsaw in their most recent contest nine years ago.
Poland Look for First Nations League Win
Poland return to Warsaw after a 3-1 defeat against Sweden in the second of four scheduled Nations League fixtures this month.
Benjamin Nygren opened the scoring inside six minutes before Sebastian Szymanski pulled the visitors level before the break in Solna.
Second-half goals from Premier League pair Viktor Gyokeres and Yasin Ayari secured the points for Sweden.
Jan Urban’s side had their chances in a competitive contest. Poland registered 18 shots to Sweden’s 12, but finished with a lower xG total (1.19-2.11).
The Poles remain winless in League B, Group 4 after being held to a goalless draw by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opening fixture in Warsaw last weekend.
Results in the past week have extended a difficult run for Poland, who also lost a World Cup play-off against Sweden in March. A 2-2 draw with Nigeria and a 2-0 defeat against Ukraine in June did little to lift spirits before this Nations League campaign.
Winless in their last five matches (D2, L3), Poland failed to record victories in any of their last three home fixtures.
Clean sheets have also been infrequent for Urban’s men. The Eagles conceded at least one goal in all but three of their last 13 games. The Poles leaked 13 goals in their seven most recent fixtures, including two goals away to Malta.
Romania Remain Vulnerable at the Back
Romania make the trip to Warsaw after a 4-2 home defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday.
Gheorghe Hagi's side struggled badly in a closed-door fixture in Bucharest. Three first-half goals from the visitors ensured a fairly one-sided contest at the National Stadium.
Goals from Daniel Birligea and Alexandru Cicaldau either side of half-time proved in vain as Romania suffered back-to-back Nations League defeats.
Monday’s setback followed a 2-1 defeat in Sweden in their opening Nations League fixture three days earlier.
The Tricolours find themselves bottom of Group 4. Romania lost four and won just one of their last six games - a 2-1 friendly victory against Wales in June.
Like Poland, defensive vulnerabilities remain a big issue. The Romanians leaked 15 goals in their last eight international fixtures, while they have not kept an away clean sheet in any of their previous nine away games.
San Marino and Lithuania were among those to breach the Romania defence in that period.
Poland vs Romania Squads & Team News
Poland Squad
Goalkeepers: Marcin Bulka, Mateusz Kochalski, Slawomir Abramowicz
Defenders: Matty Cash, Przemyslaw Wisniewski, Tomasz Kedziora, Jan Bednarek, Wojciech Monka, Jakub Kiwior, Tymoteusz Puchacz, Kacper Potulski, Norbert Wojtuszek
Midfielders: Bartosz Slisz, Kacper Urbanski, Piotr Zielinski, Wiktor Nowak, Michal Skoras, Marcel Regula, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Sebastian Szymanski, Nicola Zalewski, Oskar Pietuszewski
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Karol Swiderski, Mateusz Zukowski
Poland head coach Urban will be forced to make changes to his starting selection after the defeat in Sweden.
Bartlomiej Dragowski, Kamil Grabara, Jakub Kaminski, Filip Rozga and Adrian Benedyczak have all pulled out of the squad, while Oskar Pietuszewski has been called up ahead of Friday’s fixture.
Przemyslaw Frankowskii and Michal Skoras are the most likely candidates to earn first-team recalls after coming off the bench against Sweden.
Romania Squad
Goalkeepers: Ionut Radu, Otto Hindrich, Valentin Cojocaru
Defenders: Andrei Ratiu, Tony Strata, Andrei Coubis, Radu Dragusin, Andrei Burca, Bogdan Racovitan, Virgil Ghita, Matei Ilie, Lisav Eissat, Nicusor Bancu, Andrei Borza, Raul Oprut
Midfielders: Tudor Baluta, Vladimir Screciu, Marius Marin, Razvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu, Alexandru Cicaldau, Vlad Dragomir, David Matei, Catalin Cirjan
Forwards: Dennis Man, Darius Olaru, Olimpiu Morutan, Ianis Hagi, Valentin Mihaila, Florin Tanase, Louis Munteanu, Daniel Birligea, Denis Dragus
Head coach Ianis Hagi is expected to make changes to his starting XI. Alexandru Cicaldau and Louis Munteanu could come into the side after both were introduced at half-time against Bosnia.
Dennis Man is a doubt for Friday’s game.
Hagi took responsibility for his side’s disappointing defeat against Bosnia.
"It’s an exam; we didn’t pass it. I’m the main culprit, and I take responsibility. We will reflect. We have to change things, and Romania must return to where it was. We have a lot to build and a great deal of work to do in order to achieve very good results."