Turkey vs Sweden Predictions

Will Sweden see their relegation to the third tier of the Nations League confirmed this weekend? Despite making the last eight at the World Cup just months ago, they are set to drop down a level after some poor displays in Group B2. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the visitors. Despite sitting bottom, they have a chance of topping the group if they win their remaining two matches. Russia’s seven point haul puts them out of the reach of Turkey, who play their final game here. Can the Swedes pull off an unlikely turn around?

The hosts shouldn’t be too disheartened by the fact that they’re missing out on promotion to the top tier. Staying up is important for Turkey, who will still have hopes of making it to the Euros in two years’ time. They can boost their chances by simply surviving in the Nations League, as the finishing position in this competition will determine their seeding for the Euro qualifiers. Building up momentum for that in March would also be big, so we expect the home side to be up for this one.

Sweden should have been marching into this group ready for more success, but they failed to build on a strong World Cup campaign. They did get slightly unlucky in that two of the quarter-finalists ended up in this second tier group, but the Swedes would have expected to stay up at the very least. As we mentioned, they still have the opportunity to rally and land a big finish. However, recent form doesn’t really point to them claiming a victory in this visit to Konya.

The visitors are without a win in five matches, dating back to their World Cup exit. They started this group with a 3-2 home defeat by Turkey, which came days after a loss to Austria. They had the chance to turn things around in their last game, but they drew 1-1 with Slovakia. Morale seems to be at a low for the visitors, and they could very easily be on the verge of relegation.

The hosts are favourites to follow up their win in Sweden with another success, and recent form suggests that is deserved. Turkey have won their previous three meetings with the visitors, including the first meeting in this group. We see Turkey claiming a home win to save themselves, so we’re backing Turkey to take the points on Saturday.