Albania vs Turkey Predictions

Both Albania and Turkey could do with a positive start to their European Championship qualifiers after suffering relegation in their respective Nations League groups, but they will have to perform much better in 2019 if they are to make it to the next major international tournament as they face France, Iceland, Moldova, and Andorra in Group H.

Last time out Albania played host to Wales in a friendly match towards the end of November, where a second half penalty from Balaj proved enough for the home side to claim the win. Wales star Gareth Bale only featured for the final half an hour and could not make a scoring impact for Ryan Giggs’ side, with the former Manchester United star opting to play a more inexperienced starting eleven that also didn’t include Ramsey or Williams. Albania didn’t play as well as their guests on the day, only producing five attempts on goal during the ninety minutes and had just 42% of the overall possession. Turkey were held to a goalless draw in their last friendly at home to Ukraine, where despite not seeing as much of the ball, it was poor finishing that cost the hosts as they managed to get just two of their eleven shots on target during the ninety minutes. Misfiring Everton striker Tosun was introduced in the second half, but the forward was unable to make an impact, which has been the story of his season with the Premier League outfit.

A quick glimpse at the last six meetings between these two countries, the form and performances of the pair since September, and their results in the Nations League all point towards a tight and tense affair on Friday, with an increased chance of under 2.5 goals being scored. Four of the last six meetings between these two nations have produced under 2.5 goals, with Turkey winning two of the last three encounters and on each occasion fewer than three goals have been scored. Five of Albania’s last six and Turkey’s last four matches have also produced under 2.5 goals, and both Albania and Turkey have failed to score in four of their last six games in all competitions. The ageing Burak Yılmaz is likely to lead the line for Turkey due to Tosun’s lack of matches and goals for Everton this season, while Albania don’t carry a single obvious goal scoring threat in their squad as their top scorer Odise Roshi has netted just four times in fifty appearances for his country. The deciding factor in our prediction for a final score in this game is based on the quality of players in both squads, and it’s Turkey that we’re backing to pinch a 1-0 win on Friday.

We’re confident that under 2.5 goals will be scored in Friday’s game as both teams have been involved in a number of low scoring games of late and have struggled to find the back of the net, not to mention their recent head to head results, which also suggests we will be in for another low scoring affair. Turkey have better strikers in their squad, but its all about the service into their target men that will make the difference between a draw and all three points on Friday. In terms of a final score, we’re backing a 1-0 win for the visitors and expect Turkey to build on this result and have a strong qualifying campaign.