Albania vs San Marino
8th September 1945hrs
Football – International – 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Pick Home Win -2
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 1/2 odds taken 1221 GMT, Tuesday 7 September
Albania and San Marino meet in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Elbasan Arena this Wednesday. England are flying high at the top of Group I after winning five out of five, but Poland look vulnerable in second. If the Three Lions beat the Poles on Wednesday, three points for Albania in this one will lift them into to second spot. As you can imagine, the Albanians are the overwhelming favourites to get the win.
Table of Contents
Albania Preview – Will the Albanians move into second?
Albania are well and truly in the mix for a top-two spot after five games played. So far, Edoardo Reja’s men have won three and lost two, sitting in third place with nine points to their name.
Before losing 2-0 to England in game two, the Red and Blacks started their campaign with a 1-0 away win over Andorra. Albania then beat San Marino 2-0 before suffering a disappointing 4-1 loss to Poland in Warsaw last week. Nevertheless, Reja’s troops bounced back with an excellent and much-needed 1-0 victory over Hungary in Elbasan on Sunday.
Albania have struggled to break down the minnows in the group but have still managed to take six points out of six against Andorra and San Marino. The Eagles will be desperate to avoid any slipups in this one.
San Marino Preview – Another heavy defeat for Varrella’s side?
San Marino are the weakest link in Group I. In the battle of the minnows last week, Andorra beat them 2-0 in Andorra la Vella. Franco Varrella’s side have lost all five of their qualifiers, scoring one and conceding 19.
After losing to Andorra, which is effectively a World Cup final for the pair, they lost 7-1 at home to Poland at the weekend. However, they did manage to score against the Poles, which is an achievement in itself.
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San Marino have never won a competitive match. In fact, they have lost every single qualifier since a 0-0 draw with Estonia in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying back in November 2014. They are priced at 33/1 to win this one.
Albania vs San Marino Betting Advice
These two nations have met three times before, with Albania winning all three. The first fixture was a friendly back in 2006, which the Albanians won 3-0. They also won 3-0 in a friendly in June 2014.
When these two locked horns in 2022 World Cup qualifying back in March, Albania picked up a 2-0 away victory. Goals from Rey Manaj and Myrto Uzuni did the business in that one.
Key Facts – Albania vs San Marino Betting Tip
- Albania have won the previous three meetings without conceding
- San Marino have never won a competitive match
- The Albanians have won three of their opening five qualifiers
After the weekend’s superb victory over Hungary, Albania will be in a very good mood. However, it will count for nothing if they fail to follow that up with three points on Wednesday. In all honestly, they should be far too strong for San Marino in this one. You can get the decent odds of 1/2 for the home team to win -2.
Albania have stopped the opposition from scoring in all three of their qualifying wins so far. Check out the solid price of 4/11 for the Eagles to win to nil on Wednesday.
The best betting odds for Albania vs San Marino
Albania to win: 1/25 at Bet365
Draw: 14/1 at Bet365
San Marino to win: 33/1 at Bet365
