Slovakia vs Northern Ireland Predictions

• Slovakia have scored in nine of their last 10 home games.
• Northern Ireland have scored in four consecutive away games.
• Northern Ireland have to avoid defeat to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Pivotal moment for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland head to Slovakia on Friday in a massive fixture as they bid for a place at World Cup 2026.

Defeat would end their hopes of a spot in next summer’s showpiece, while a victory would put them above their hosts – either on goal difference outright or goals scored – going into the final batch of games, when they host eliminated Luxembourg and Slovakia head to Germany.

Northern Ireland were deserved winners as they claimed a 2-0 victory over their hosts at Windsor Park last month, but Slovakia are far stronger on home soil and the GAWA have struggled on their travels with just one win in eight.

Slovakia are the favourites to win on Friday but that performance in Belfast still suggests Northern Ireland have a good chance to get a positive result, but the best angle here could be the odds against price on both teams to score.

Slovakia have scored in nine of their last 10 home games and beat Germany 2-0 in Bratislava earlier in qualifying, albeit with luck on their side. Northern Ireland’s road results have been poor, but they have at least scored in their last four away games and have faced quality opposition in the shape of Germany, Denmark and Sweden during that run.

While goals at both ends are expected, this is likely to be a nervy encounter given how much is at stake and this could still be a low scoring game. There is a chance both sides could cancel each other out and a point may be seen as a positive result in both camps, so a 1-1 draw is the pick in the correct score market.