Malta vs Estonia Match Analysis and Prediction

3 years ago 527

Having both started their UEFA Nations League campaign with wins, Malta and Estonia will have an encounter in each of their second matches on Thursday.

The two sides started with victories over San Marino and will fight to take control of top spot in League D Group 2.

Malta just failed to earn promotion to League C in the 202 UEFA Nations League campaign, largely down to their slow start as they picked up just two points from the opening three matches.

Back-to-back wins were not enough to earn them top spot, as they eventually finished second with nine points, before managing just one win in 10 attempts in World Cup Qualifying.

Devis Mangia’s side then played their first games of 2022 in March, defeating Azerbaijan 1-0 and Kuwait 2-0 before returning to action at the beginning of June with an encounter against Venezuela, which they eventually fell short as Salomon Rondon scored the only goal of the game in the second half.

With only the top nation in the three-team group earning promotion after the four matches, Malta will hope to gain a lead over Estonia with what would be a vital second win on Thursday.

Estonia also kicked off their campaign with a win over San Marino after a five-game winless run, culminating in a Nations League relegation playoff against Cyprus in March.

After finishing bottom of their group in League C, they went into a two-legged affair and suffered a 2-0 away defeat following a draw at home, confirming their drop to the bottom tier.

After victory over San Marino, Sinisargid took on Argentina in an international friendly on Sunday, and Lionel Messi punished them by scoring all five goals in Spain.

Estonia now go in search of a second straight continental victory to move clear at the top of the group.

Malta vs Estonia head to head

The two teams have previously met on six occasions across all competitions, where they have claimed two victories each while they have drawn in two. They have each scored eight goals and conceded eight in the process. In their last meeting, Estonia claimed a 3-0 away win in a friendly.

Estonia 0-1 Malta 12/05/93

Malta 5-2 Estonia 16/02/04

Estonia 2-1 Malta 20/08/08

Estonia 1-1 Malta 31/08/16

Malta 0-3 Estonia 12/11/17

Malta latest home form

Malta have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They lost 1-0 to Venezuela in their last home game in a friendly match. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded 14.

Malta 1-7 Croatia 11/11/21

Malta 0-6 Slovakia 14/11/21

Malta 1-0 Azerbaijan 25/03/22

Malta 2-0 Kuwait 29/03/22

Malta 0-1 Venezuela 01/06/22

Malta latest away form

Malta have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They defeated San Marino 2-0 in their last away game in the UEFA Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded eight.

Croatia 3-0 Malta 20/03/21

Slovenia 1-0 Malta 04/09/21

Russia 2-0 Malta 07/09/21

Cyprus 2-2 Malta 11/10/21

San Marino 0-2 Malta 05/06/22

Estonia latest home form

Estonia have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They defeated San Marino 2-0 in their last home game in the UEFA Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded two.

Estonia 0-1 Northern Ireland 05/09/21

Estonia 2-0 Belarus 08/10/21

Estonia 0-1 Wales 11/10/21

Estonia 0-0 Cyprus 24/03/22

Estonia 2-0 San Marino 02/06/22

Estonia latest away form

Estonia have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having lost each of their four most recent matches. They lost 5-0 to Argentina in their last away game in a friendly match. In their last five matches, they have scored just one goal and conceded 12.

Wales 0-0 Estonia 08/09/21

Belgium 3-1 Estonia 13/11/21

Czech Republic 2-0 Estonia 16/11/21

Cyprus 2-0 Estonia 29/03/22

Argentina 5-0 Estonia 05/06/22

Malta news

Attacking midfielder Jan Busuttil will hope to come into the starting XI on Thursday, having come off the bench to score in their win against San Marino last time out.

Centre-back Steve Borg should again captain the side and play in the back three alongside Jean Borg and Enrico Pepe.

Estonia news

Estonia should line up with a back three, with Joonas Tamm, Marten Kuusk and Karol Mets set to shield Karl Hein between the sticks.

Robert Kirss should again lead the front line for his side, while midfielder Konstantin Vassiljev will continue to lead his nation, having scored 25 times in 141 caps.

Prediction and Odds

While both teams had positive starts to their UEFA Nations League campaigns, Malta will feel more confident with Estonia having been thrashed 5-0 by Argentina on Sunday.

In what is likely to be a tight encounter, it could be hard to pick a winner, and we instead settle for a draw.

Odds: 1 2.15 X 1.89 2 2.30