Finland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina Match Analysis and Prediction

3 years ago 762

Finland will take on Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in their opening fixture of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign on Saturday night with kickoff at 19:00.

The two have been drawn in Group B3 of the competition alongside Montenegro and Romania. Both Finland and Bosnia are the favorites to earn a promotion to the top tier next season although it’s a fairly challenging group, and thus both will be looking to get their campaigns underway with a victory.

Finland failed to earn a promotion to the top tier in the Nations league 2020-21 campaign, with the side finishing second in Group B4 four points behind leaders Wales. The Eagle-owls, also failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar later this year, having finished third in Group D behind France and Ukraine.

They will now be looking to bounce back with a good campaign in the competition and they will fancy their chances of securing promotion from what could prove to be a very open group.

However, they head into the opening fixture in a worrying form having won just three of their last 11 games across all competitions. Also their home is a cause of concern for Markku Kanerva’s side as they have only won one of their last 10 home matches in all competitions, failing to score in six matches.

But, Finland win came against Bosnia & Herzegovina, a 3-1 in the World Cup qualifiers at away, and they will look to build on that.

Bosnia and Herzegovina meanwhile also failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, after finishing fourth in Group D behind their Saturday hosts. They also endured a difficult campaign in last season’s Nations League campaign, finishing last in Group 1 of League A behind Italy, Netherlands and Poland.

Bosnia will now be looking to return to the top tier at the first attempt, although they will need to be at their absolute best. They have also been in a poor form recently having claimed just one win from their last six games in all competitions, and their away form is also concerning as they have only won two of their last 17 international on the road matches.

However, the Golden Lilies won 1-0 at home against Luxembourg in their last game, and they will be looking to build on that as they seek a positive start on Saturday.