Czech Republic vs Albania Prediction & Tips
The recent 4-0 debacle to Italy was the Czech Republic’s second worst defeat (# 40 in the FIFA rankings) under current coach Jaroslav Šilhavý and came at a bad time as they prepare for their seventh consecutive appearance in the European Championship. However, he continued a long trend of matches that had a winner, with only one draw in his last 38 international commitments.
He will be desperate to get to the Euro with a win and should get it in this clash, which will be the first between these two countries, considering he has won 11 of his last 13 matches (P2) against teams ranked below # 59, registering victories both at halftime and at the end of the match in eight of them and covering a handicap of -1 in six of those commitments. Furthermore, the last time the Czech Republic lost at home to a team with these characteristics was in 2013 (Armenia).
Despite reaching the finals in a tournament for the first time in 2016 (Euro 2016), Albania (# 66) failed to qualify in consecutive editions to this competition, but limited Wales to a goalless draw last Saturday. That marked his fifth unbeaten goal in his last nine international matches, although only his last was against a team in the top 100. Consequently, only three of his last 12 meetings have produced more than 2.5 goals.
With eight (G4, P4) of Albania’s last 11 games won or lost favoring the team to score first, fans know what their team must do to ensure a surprising result. However, exactly half of his last ten appearances were goalless during the break, so patience may be needed as he has scored at least one goal after the 60th minute in five of his last seven meetings.
Players to watch: Antonín Barák has scored five of his eight goals for both his club and the national team this season after the break, but scored five of the six goals in his career with the Czech Republic in the first 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Bekim Balaj has scored six of his seven goals for Albania after the 30th minute.
Highlight: An average of 1.09 goals have been scored in the first 30 minutes in the last 11 games for the Czech Republic.
Czech Republic – Albania FREE TIPS
Czech Republic – Win @ 1.45
Both teams to score / YES @ 1.80
Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.90
