Albania vs Spain Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Albania made it to their first ever major tournament finals in the summer as they got on the plane to France. It was always going to be a tough ask against the likes of France, Switzerland, and Romania though. They went out at the group stages, but their resilience saw them hold France at bay for a long time and limit Switzerland to a single goal. They then managed their first ever tournament goal as they beat Romania 1-0.

They have gained confidence from this performance as well, and have followed their Euro 2016 appearance with a goalless draw against Morocco and two victories in the opening rounds of the World Cup qualifiers.

They beat Macedonia 2-1 in the first clash and then visited Liechtenstein and came away with a 2-0 victory on Thursday. This puts them top of their qualifying group, but I can’t see that lasting long. Albania have been drawn in a tough group, with Spain and Italy favourites for the top two spots. It would be a huge surprise if Albania could outperform either of those teams to claim one of the top two positions.

Spain had a disappointing Euro 2016 campaign as they muddled through the group stages and were then knocked out of the competition at the hands of an efficient Italy side. This was Vicente del Bosque’s swansong tournament. The Spain legend has now retired and been replaced by his friend Julen Lopetegui.

Lopetegui kicked off his national team management career with a 2-0 win over a disappointing Belgium side, and they followed this with an emphatic 8-0 thrashing of Liechtenstein in the first of their World Cup qualifiers. They couldn’t re-discover this form when they drew 1-1 with Italy on Thursday though. They typically had a huge amount of possession but struggled to break down that legendary Italian defence.

Spain have managed to keep a clean sheet in five of their last seven away games, and against Albania they have only conceded two goals in their five meetings with each other. Albania have failed to score in three of their last seven home matches as well, so backing Spain to Win to Nil at 20/21 looks a good value offering. I’m going for a 2-0 correct score prediction at 9/2.