SLOVAKIA v HUNGARY
European Championship Qualifiers
Thursday 21st March 2019
Kickoff: 1945hrs
Pick: Slovakia AH-0.25
Bookmaker: Marathonbet
Odds: 1.52 (odds taken at 05:35 GMT, 19 Mar 2019)
Group E is up next as Slovakia play host to Hungary as the betting tips continue in the opening group matches of these Euro 2020 qualifiers at the City Arena Trnava with Slovakia looking to put their recent UEFA Nations League disappointment behind them here.
European Championship Betting at Marathonbet
Slovakia Prediction
Slovakia were amongst four teams to suffer relegation at the end of the group stage in League B of the inaugural Nations League competition as they joined Turkey, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland down the trap-door to League C.
Slovakia were thrown into a strong group which consisted of Ukraine and Czech Republic and they duly got off to a poor start losing 1-0 away at Ukraine and then lost 2-1 at home to the Czech Republic. The hosts did manage a 4-1 home win over Ukraine but it was too little too late and their fate was sealed with a 1-0 defeat away at Czech Republic.
Nevertheless, Slovakia will still be in confident mood ahead of this Thursday’s clash with Hungary as the hosts have lost just once in their last nine matches in all competitions, which includes seven wins, a draw and a loss.
Notable wins during this sequence include a 1-0 win over Norway, a 1-1 draw with Netherlands and a 3-0 win against Denmark. The hosts therefore have every reason to be upbeat about their chances in this encounter.
- Slovakia have lost just 1 of their last 9 home matches in all competitions
- Hungary are without an away win from their last 8 away matches
- The last meeting between these two nations was 11 years ago, ended 1-1
Hungary Prediction
Hungary started off in League C in the Nations League competition and finished a creditable 2nd place in Group 2 behind the winners of the group, Finland, by a two-point margin, but the Hungarians edged out Greece and Estonia to take the runners-up spot and avoided relegation.
Hungary set a very definite trend during the group stages as they recorded a 100% winning record at their Groupama Aréna in Budapest with wins over Greece 2-1, Estonia 2-0 and Finland 2-0, but it was their results away from home which prevented them from claiming the promotion spot up into League B.
The visitors suffered back-to-back defeats away at Finland and Greece, both by 1-0 margins before grabbing a point in a high-scoring 3-3 draw at Estonia, but by then Finland had sneaked into top spot despite losing their last two group matches on the trot.
Hungary will once again be dependent upon their form on home soil as they’re without an away win from their last eight matches on their travels in all competitions, which includes failing to keep a single clean sheet during this miserable eight match run on the road.
Betting Tips Verdict
Slovakia should hold the edge here at home against a poor travelling Hungary outfit.
