Moldova vs San Marino Predictions

Both of these sides have found themselves off the pace in the fight for top spot, but can either of them boost their hopes of finishing first? San Marino are being shown up among their own peers, having been soundly beaten in clashes with Belarus and Luxembourg. Will that form continue in this meeting with Moldova on Friday night? The hosts need to jump-start their ambitions for finish top, especially with a place in the Euro 2020 play-offs on the line for these minnows.

Moldova are rarely seen so short, but they’re massive favourites for the points here. Their 0-0 draw at home to Belarus in their first clash wasn’t a convincing win, but they’re expected to step up against much weaker opposition. This tournament is an interesting test for these sides, who face competitive matches against beatable opposition. There’s a huge prize on the line, and in theory we should see more innovation from the weaker sides in European qualifying, now that they have a chance to experiment.

The visitors aren’t exactly looking at home against fellow international strugglers. When it comes to sides short of talent at international level, the visitors are a cut below. They’ve lost 23 straight matches ahead of this trip, and their start in the Nations League points to the gap between San Marino and the rest. Can they cause a surprise in this visit to Moldova, or are the hosts being handed a much needed win on a platter?

The visitors have failed to score in their last four internationals, while they’ve lost to nil in 26 of their last 30 full internationals. That awful run makes us doubt their chances of scoring at Moldova, while their defence should be concerned. The away side conceded eight times in their opening two matches in the Nations League, going down 5-0 away to Belarus. The top three in this group seem to be around the same level of quality, so we expect Moldova to run riot here.

After all, the hosts have won 100% of their meetings with San Marino, dating back to 2000. In two meetings between the pair in Moldova, the hosts have won comfortably. They’ve claimed 3-0 and 4-0 victories in that time, so this is likely to be another heavy loss for San Marino. The visitors have lost by three goals or more in nine straight trips, so Moldova -2 is our tip here.