Latvia vs Georgia Predictions

Georgia are steaming towards a promotion to the third tier of the Nations League, after a perfect start. They’re leading the way in group D1, with three wins from three. They have benefited from poor form elsewhere, which has left them with a healthy seven point margin over the rest of the pool. They visit Latvia on Tuesday night, which offers a chance for them to boost their promotion push even further, and potentially leap up a division with two games to spare. Can the visitors prevent the runaway leaders pulling even further ahead?

The hosts are chasing their first win in the Nations League here, following their 1-1 draw with Kazakhstan at the weekend. The struggling trio is completed by Andorra, who are punching above their weight in this pool. Those three are on two points each, and that’s allowed a clear favourite to steal a march on a Euro 2020 play-off place. The four winners of the bottom tier will all meet, with one spot at the next major tournament up for grabs. That prize should be huge for sides in the bottom tier, but now that place has been all but claimed in this group.

Georgia have been building up form of late, and they are revelling in facing more open opposition. The visitors have built up a record of making life difficult for bigger sides in recent years. The Republic of Ireland have been a frequent opponent, and they’ve tended to make things difficult in those clashes. However, we haven’t seen a huge amount of Georgia as an attacking force, but that’s been changing in the Nations League this term.

The visitors picked up the form ahead of the new competition, kicking off a five game unbeaten run after the last round of qualifiers ended. They have now lost just one of their last nine matches, and they’ve won six of their last seven in all competitions. That form has taken them to the verge of promotion to the third tier, and it could make them the side to watch in the Euro 2020 play-offs from this level.

The hosts’ failure to win a game at this level is a huge blow, especially as the only team in the group to have made a major finals before. They are struggling at the back of late, and they come into this clash with a Georgia side who are really solid. The visitors have won to nil in six of their last seven, so we’re backing an away win in this clash, and we see the visitors coming away from Riga with another three points and a clean sheet.