Greece vs Cyprus Match Analysis and Prediction

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Greece and Cyprus will have an encounter at the Panthessaliko Stadio in Volos for their UEFA Nations League fixture in League C Group 2 on Thursday.

The hosts have lost just one of their last six home games in the Nations League, while Cyprus have failed to win on the road in seven attempts since the competition began four years ago.

Gus Poyet has made a positive start to life in charge of Greece since his appointment as head coach in March, winning three of his first four matches including his opening two Nations League games away against Northern Ireland and Kosovo.

A narrow 1-0 win at Windsor Park was followed by victory by the same scoreline against nine-man Kosovo on Sunday, with midfielder Anastasios Bakasetas getting his name on the scoresheet in both occasions.

Piratiko have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last six Nations League matches and are unbeaten in each of their last eight matches in the competition.

Greece head into Thursday’s contest having won each of their last five encounters against Cyprus, scoring at least twice on each occasion, so they will be confident of another success against their Mediterranean neighbours.

Meanwhile, Cyprus have endured a frustrating start to their Nations League campaign as they lost 2-0 at home to Kosovo before drawing 0-0 away against Northern Ireland on Sunday.

Nikos Kostenoglou has now seen his side win only two of their last 16 matches acorss all competitions since he took charge in February last year, and they have scored on just four of those occasions.

Considering Cyprus have also failed to win any of their last 13 away encounters over the last two-and-a-half years, a run which has seen them lose 12 times and concede 33 goals, victory in Volos seems a tall order for them.

Greece vs Cyprus head to head

The two teams have previously met on 15 occasions across all competitions, where Greece have claimed 12 victories while Cyprus have won twice and they have drawn once. Cyprus have scored 17 goals and conceded 36. In their last meeting, Greece picked up a 2-1 home win in a friendly match.

Cyprus 1-2 Greece 29/01/03

Greece 2-0 Cyprus 19/05/08

Greece 2-0 Cyprus 07/10/16

Cyprus 1-2 Greece 07/10/17

Greece 2-1 Cyprus 11/11/20

Greece latest home form

Greece have recently been on a reletively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Kosovo in their last home game in the World Cup Qualifiers. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded five.

Greece 2-1 Honduras 28/03/21

Greece 1-1 Georgia 31/03/21

Greece 2-1 Sweden 08/09/21

Greece 0-1 Spain 11/11/21

Greece 1-1 Kosovo 14/11/21

Greece latest away form

Greece have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just two of their seven most recent matches. They defeated Kosovo 1-0 in their last away game in the Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored three goals and conceded three.

Sweden 2-0 Greece 12/10/21

Romania 0-1 Greece 25/03/22

Montenegro 1-0 Greece 28/03/22

Northern Ireland 0-1 Greece 02/06/22

Kosovo 0-1 Greece 05/06/22

Cyprus latest home form

Cyprus have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their six most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Northern Ireland in their last home game in the Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded seven.

Cyprus 0-3 Croatia 08/10/21

Cyprus 2-2 Malta 11/10/21

Cyprus 2-0 Estonia 29/03/22

Cyprus 0-2 Kosovo 02/06/22

Cyprus 0-0 Northern Ireland 05/06/22

Cyprus latest away form

Cyprus have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having failed to win any of their 13 most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Estonia in their last away game in the Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored one goal and conceded 13.

Malta 3-0 Cyprus 01/09/21

Slovakia 2-0 Cyprus 07/09/21

Russia 6-0 Cyprus 11/11/21

Slovenia 2-1 Cyprus 14/11/21

Estonia 0-0 Cyprus 24/03/22

Greece news

George Baldock, who made his international debut earlier this month, is set to retain his place, joining Pantelis Chatzidiakos, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kostas Tsimikas in the back four.

Giorgos Giakoumakis is expected to continue as the lone striker ahead of Tasos Douvikas, while Andreas Bouchalakis is vying for a spot in the first XI.

Cyprus news

There could be a rotation in the back three, with Nikolas Panayiotou and Charalambos Kyriakou potentially replacing Fanos Katelaris and Pavlos Corres.

Alex Gogic is set to retain his place at the heart of the defence, while striker Marinos Tzionis could return to the first XI ahead of Demetris Christofi.

Prediction and Odds

Cyprus have struggled to pose a threat in front of goal so far this season, and considering Greece’s recent defensive resilience, we find it difficult to back the visitors.

Greece will be the favourites to claim all three points on Thursday and we are expecting them to come away with a win.

Odds: 1 1.78 X 2.00 2 2.26