Belarus vs Azerbaijan prediction, preview, team news and more

Belarus host Azerbaijan at the Dinamo National Olympic Stadium in Minsk on Wednesday for an international friendly.

With no European commitments over the summer, the sides are looking to experiment with their best lineups and get some positive results to improve their rankings.

It will be particularly tough for Azerbaijan, who host some of the games in the upcoming Euro 2020 competition, because they failed to qualify for the tournament. They are the only hosts with that unwanted distinction.

They're also coming off the back of a poor run of nine winless games, including defeats in each of their last four, as Milli are desperate to return to winning ways.

Belarus, meanwhile, lost out in the playoffs semi-final in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Georgia. They were battered at the hands of Belgium in their last game, losing 8-0.

Belarus vs Azerbaijan Head-To-Head

In three previous clashes between the sides, Belarus and Azerbaijan have won once against each other.

Azerbaijan clinched a 1-0 friendly victory back in 2001 before Belarus exacted revenge in their 2018 meeting.

Belarus Form Guide (all competitions): W-L-D-W-L

Azerbaijan Form Guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-L

Belarus vs Azerbaijan Team News

Belarus

Head coach Georgy Kondratyev has named a 23-man squad, including four foreign-based players: Denis Polyakov, Nikolay Zolotov, Max Ebong and Evgeniy Berezkin.

The manager has brought in only two attackers for next month's double-header, with Maxim Skavysh and Andrey Solovey expected to score goals.

Injured: None

Suspended: None

Unavailable: None

Azerbaijan

Gianni De Biasi reverted to a three-man backline against Turkey last week and lost 2-1. The manager might opt to switch to his favored five-at-the-back formula.

There will also be changes from the side which started that game, as the Italian might give fringe players a chance. However, experienced striker Ramil Sheydayev and goalscorer Emin Mahmudov are expected to retain their places in the starting XI.

Injured: None

Suspended: None

Unavailable: None

Belarus vs Azerbaijan Predicted XI

Belarus (4-4-2): Pavel Pavlyuchenko; Maxim Volodko, Nikolay Zolotov, Denis Polyakov, Igor Zayats; Max Ebong, Roman Yuzepchuk, Vladislav Klimovich, Evgeniy Berezkin; Maxim Skavysh, Andrey Solovey.

Azerbaijan (5-3-2): Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev; Abbas Huseynov, Badavi Huseynov, Maksim Medvedev, Elvin Badalov, Anton Krivotsyuk; Emin Mahmudov, Vugar Mustafayev, Ismayil Ibrahimli; Ramil Sheydayev, Anatoliy Nuriyev.