Only two teams in Finland’s 10 most recent internationals have managed to score.
– 7 of Northern Ireland’s 10 last defeats were by a scoreline of 1-0
Bet: Finland will win by zero
Finland’s automatic qualification hopes for Euro 2024 were ended after three consecutive defeats. However, their Nations League performance ensures them a spot in the Play-offs.
Northern Ireland, Friday’s opponent, has no second chance after a disappointing season in which they only managed to win 2-0 and then 3-0 against San Marino.
Michael O’Neill’s team has suffered several defeats by a solitary goal in the Group H. They have only scored twice in their six matches, apart from two wins over San Marino.
News about Team
Finland may recall Jere Uronen, an experienced left-back. Lukas Haradecky, the Bayer Leverkusen stopper will be captaining the team. Former Norwich striker Teemu Pukki is looking to increase his 38 goals in international competition.
Shea Charles is suspended for Northern Ireland after being sent off in October against Slovenia. Paddy McNair has returned from his ban, and could be the centre-back in place of Manchester United’s Jonny Evan who is injured. Conor Hazard will start as goalkeeper, since Bailey Peacock Farrell has been withdrawn due to a knee injury.
Stats
Only two teams in Finland’s 10 most recent internationals have managed to score.
In their six recent victories, the Finns are undefeated.
In 16 of Finland’s 20 last home matches, the total score was under 2.5.
NI has lost six out of seven matches in the last week, and seven out of ten of its last ten defeats were by a 1-0 margin.
In the first eight games of Northern Ireland’s qualifying campaign, only 16 goals have been scored.
Prediction
The league standings are not very important for Friday’s match, as Finland is already in the playoffs and Northern Ireland cannot qualify to next summer’s Finals.
O’Neill, the NI manager, will want a good result while Markku Kanerva, his Finnish counterpart, is hoping to end a losing streak of three matches.
In their two last home games, Kanerva’s team lost 2-1 to Kazakhstan after conceding twice in the final 15 minutes. They also conceded a goal in the 86th minute against Denmark.
Finland’s clean-sheet record and Northern Ireland’s poor goal scoring means that Finland is worth betting on to win.
Goalkeeper Hradecky, who is currently the Bundesliga leader at Bayer Leverkusen, should have confidence in his abilities after a string of impressive performances during their early season.
