Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan get their UEFA Nations League campaigns underway with a League C Group 3 fixture on Friday afternoon.
Both nations endured disappointing seasons during the last edition, Kazakhstan needing to come through the relegation playoffs to remain at the third tier.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having finished bottom of their group during the last campaign, Kazakhstan found themselves involved in a two-legged playoff with Moldova to avoid dropping into the bottom tier of teams.
A fine comeback during the away first leg secured a 2-1 advantage ahead of the reverse fixture, only for Moldova to prevail 1-0 in the second half of the tie to set up a penalty shootout.
At one stage, Kazakhstan found themselves 3-1 down, but a miraculous turnaround saw them win 5-4, a result which felt important in the context of their progression as a team.
Nevertheless, the powers-that-be still made the decision to bring in a fresh face in the dugout, Magomed Adiyev being handed the reins as recently as last month.
Since the resumption of international football in September 2020, Kazakhstan have won just three of their 19 matches in all competitions.
Azerbaijan have also endured a bleak period with just two victories being recorded in 22 fixtures, the last of which came almost a year to the day in Belarus.
Gianni De Biasi will be hoping for the same result when the two nations meet again next week, but his initial focus will be on ending a 10-game winless streak.
In their last Nations League campaign, Azerbaijan finished just two points ahead of bottom-placed Cyprus, a run of three goalless draws in succession ensuring that they avoided relegation.
With goals having also not been scored in their recent defeats against Latvia and Malta, the onus will be on making improvements in that area of the pitch during their upcoming matches.
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Team News
Kazahstan will make at least one change to the team which last faced Moldova with star man Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov not present in the squad.
Aybar Zhaksylykov appears most likely to come into the team in what may prove to be the only alteration to the starting lineup.
As for Azerbaijan, De Biasi must decide whether to stick with the first XI from the home defeat against Latvia at the end of March.
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Renat Dadashov got the nod on that occasion but with the 23-year-old still looking for his first international goal, Ramil Sheydayev may get the nod instead.
Kazakhstan possible starting lineup:
Shatskiy; Marochkin, Maliy, Alip; Bystrov, Vasiljev, Tagybergen, Kuat, Suyumbaev; Zhaksylykov, Aymbetov
Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Agayev; Salahly, Haghverdi, Mustafazada; Medvedev, Mahmudov, Silvestre, Qarayev, Bayramov; Nazarov, Sheydayev
We say: Kazakhstan 1-1 Azerbaijan
With Slovakia the clear favourites to top the group, neither of these sides can afford defeat in their opening fixture. A draw may not prove beneficial, especially for Kazakhstan, but we feel that a low-scoring stalemate is the most likely outcome on Friday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
