Gibraltar vs Liechtenstein Predictions

Gibraltar were celebrating history on Saturday, as they claimed a 1-0 win over Armenia to secure their first ever competitive win. That has thrown Group D4 into the hands of Macedonia, who now lead the other three sides by six points at the half-way stage. Meanwhile, the other three sides are narrowly separated on goal difference, leaving them struggling to keep their hopes of making the Euros alive. Both Gibraltar and Liechtenstein will simply be looking to remain competitive, but which one of them will claim three points here?

That weekend win has been a huge boost to football in Gibraltar. They have finally got some of the benefits of the Nations League, which should help improve the bottom rung of European sides. The hosts have spent the majority of their time in the international game facing much stronger, better funded sides. Those games quickly become an attack against defence routine, giving Gibraltar’s players little chance to grow tactically or technically. However, their win over Armenia is certainly a mark of progress.

The visitors have made a few steps of their own, but they’ve still lost two of their first three games. Their sole victory came at home to Gibraltar last month, but they’re in for a sterner test on the road. Both Armenia and Macedonia have claimed home wins over Liechtenstein in the Nations League so far. Overall, the visitors are in pretty awful form, given that they’ve lost four of their last five outings, including meetings with Andorra and the Faroe Islands back in March. They’ve had the chance to take on similar opposition, but their standard of defending isn’t improving.

The visitors have an awful record at the back, with one clean sheet in 20. They’ve got to be concerned about their solidity on the road, as it’s almost four years since their last clean sheet on their travels. They make this trip having conceded by the bucket-load in World Cup qualifying, while they’ve shipped six goals in two away trips in the Nations League.

We do expect Gibraltar to take advantage of that leaky defence, especially coming off such a historic win. They should get forward and trouble a long-held Liechtenstein weakness, but how will the hosts hold up? They meet a side who have scored in all three Nations League outings, while three of their last four trips have seen both teams score. We’re backing the same again here, with each defence looking vulnerable. Both teams to score is our main tip, along with a 1-1 draw.