Hungary vs Slovakia Predictions

As it was their turn to sit out on Friday night, Hungary saw Croatia go above them in Group E on goal difference. With Wales creeping up behind, the Hungarians will be looking to continue moving in the right direction by beating a downbeat Slovakia side. The Slovaks need to bounce back after receiving a hammering from Croatia last time out.

After losing to Slovakia on match-day one, things have taken a turn for the better as far as the Hungarians are concerned. Monday’s hosts have won each of their last three matches in Group E, scoring a pleasing six goals in the process.

They’ve not always dominated,and haven’t always been that easy on the eye, but Hungary have developed a habit of keeping themselves in games before edging ahead. In their two home games, Hungary have scored three goals and have created a respectable 3.00 expected goals. At the other end, they’ve conceded just once, while they gave little away when beating Wales in their most recent home game.

Fortunately for the hosts, Slovakia have been disappointing since their opening-day victory. They struggled to get going when losing by a goal to nil against Wales, who lost by a goal to nil when visiting this venue in June.

The Slovaks did beat whipping boys Azerbaijan, but beating a side of such low quality isn’t exactly something to shout about. On Friday night, the Slovaks slumped to defeat at home against Croatia, losing by four goals to nil. On that occasion, they failed to get involved offensively, creating 0.37 expected goals, while they simply didn’t compete at the back.

Slovakia won the reverse fixture, but they’ve since gone backwards and have struggled against decent opposition, while the opposite is true of the hosts. On this basis, Hungary appear to be slightly overpriced in the early betting and thus a punt on a home win is worthwhile. Against a side that created next to nothing against Croatia recently and who struggled to get going on the road in Wales, the Hungarians are backed to maintain their 100% home record in Group E.

‘Correct Score’ punters are pointed in the direction of a 1-0 win for the hosts, who recently kept Wales at bay at this venue. Add in the fact that Slovakia failed to get going offensively away in Wales (or against Croatia on Friday night) and a low-scoring win for the hosts starts to appeal.