Cyprus vs Kazakhstan Predictions

Kazakhstan have made a strong start in their bid to make Euro 2020, which has seen them claim six points so far to compete for a top-two finish. These two sides are ranked among the lowest in Europe, with Cyprus being relegated to the fourth tier of the UEFA Nations League, joining Kazakhstan for the 2020 edition of the tournament. Despite that, both teams still have a chance to finish second in a wide-open group, so can either of these two boost their hopes of qualifying for the Euros with a victory?

Cyprus have made a tough start to their group with three defeats in four, but they are only six points off after facing some of their toughest games in the group. They could yet close the gap, especially if they can pull off a victory at home this weekend. Having gone through World Cup qualifying with wins at home to Gibraltar and Bosnia, they should be looking to defeat a Kazakhstan side who have had issues of their own through the early stages of this campaign.

The visitors pulled off a thumping win over Scotland early on, while they have produced three wins from five games. That good form has put them in a strong position, but their away win at Latvia isn’t entirely convincing. They head into this clash following a torrid time in World Cup qualifying which saw them lost every away game. With that terrible form behind them, Cyprus are deservedly the favourites going into this clash, with the hosts aiming to take advantage of some vulnerabilities in the Kazakh backline.

The visitors conceded at least two goals per game across their away trips in the last round of qualifiers. They shipped 17 goals in total across five games, going down to the likes of Montenegro and Armenia. Since then they conceded in five of six Nations League games, only keeping a clean sheet against Andorra at home. Georgia beat them home and away as they moved into the third tier, so the visitors’ strong start may just be masking their problems.

Even in this group, Kazakhstan have had their issues. The visitors have been on the end of heavy losses to Russia and Belgium in their last three games. They conceded seven goals in total to those two, while their World Cup record suggests they can concede at any side. Cyprus won 5-0 at home to San Marino in this group, while they kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 win at home to Slovenia. We think they are capable of scoring a couple against the Kazakh defence, so over 1.5 Cyprus goals is our tip here. We’re also backing the visitors to score in a 2-1 home win.