Will Albania open the door to the playoffs?
The next international break is marked on the soccer calendar. This week, the ninth match day of qualifying for next year’s World Cup is on the agenda. We take a look at the duel between Andorra and Albania, in which the tip on the hosts is rewarded with odds of up to 14.00 by the bookmaker Interwetten, indicating the clear underdog status of the “Tricolor.”
In addition to our protagonists, England, Serbia, and Latvia are also playing in Group K. The group victory has already been awarded to the British, but the important second place, which entitles the team to participate in the playoffs for the final round, is still up for grabs.
Andorra is number 172 in the FIFA world rankings and has no chance in this qualifying group. Of the seven games played, only one draw was recorded against Latvia. With one point to their credit, the blue, yellow, and reds are languishing at the bottom of the table and will not be able to move up, as coach Koldo Alvarez’s team has one game left to play but is four points behind.
In contrast, there is still a lot at stake for the visitors in the Andorra vs. Albania prediction. They have recorded three wins and two draws from six games. With eleven points, the red and blacks are currently in the important second place, one point ahead of Serbia. If the Albanians win their match and Serbia loses in England at the same time, they will secure second place in the standings.
Andorra – Albania Head-to-head record
The two nations have met seven times in total so far. The overall record speaks for itself, with five wins and only one defeat in favor of the visitors. The first leg was a clear victory for the Albanians. The Andorrans were sent home with a 3-0 defeat. The hosts’ only victory dates back to a friendly match in 2002. In the EURO 2020 qualifiers, the “Tricolor” held the red and blacks to a draw. Looking only at competitive games, three of the five encounters saw more than 2.5 goals scored.
Andorra – Albania Tip
Unsurprisingly, Andorra has never made it to the final round of a European Championship or World Cup. That is not about to change. The football minnows have no chance in their group and have scored only three goals in seven games. That is the lowest tally in Group K. On the other hand, they have conceded a lot of goals. Fifteen goals against means that on average, they have had to fish the ball out of their own net more than twice per game. They have not won any of their last ten international matches. Their last victory was a 2-0 friendly win against San Marino.
The visitors are a completely different story. They rely on a strong defense and have conceded only three goals in six games, two of which were scored by England. This is the second-best record in their qualifying group. However, we see a lot of room for improvement in their offense. They have only scored six goals, which is an average of one goal per game. Half of the goals have been scored by Rey Manaj, who plays for Al Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Albania are now unbeaten in seven international matches. Their victory in Serbia came as something of a surprise and opened the door to the World Cup finals.
In last year’s Nations League, the hosts finished bottom of League D without a win. The visitors competed in League B and fought an exciting battle with Georgia and Ukraine. In the end, however, they had to make the bitter descent into League C. There is not much debate about who the favorites are for the upcoming match, but based on the statistics cited, we do not expect a goal fest. Our recommendation for the Andorra vs. Albania match is therefore to bet on less than 2.5 goals at odds of 1.73 at the tested bookmaker Bet-at-home.
Head coach Sylvinho’s team knows what a big goal can be achieved with a possible victory and will certainly throw everything into the mix to pave the way to victory early on.
