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Kazakhstan and Slovenia begin their quest for a place in the 2024 European Championship when they meet at the Astana Arena on Thursday.
With both sides yet to take to the pitch this year, they will be looking to kick off 2023 with a bang and get into the catbird seats in Group H.
Kazakhstan’s laudable 2022 Nations League campaign now appears ages ago as the nation have struggled to put together a decent run of results.
Despite a 3-0 thrashing against Azerbaijan in their Nations League finale in September 2020, Magomed Adiev’s men finished first in Group C3 to clinch promotion.
Since then, however, Kazakhstan have been handed two successive defeats, losing against Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates in back-to-back friendlies.
For Slovenia, their poor outing in last year’s Nations League saw them finish third in Group B4, avoiding relegation by just two points.
However, manager Matjaž Kek has since ameliorated his side's results, guiding them to two successive friendly victories over Slovenia and most recently Montenegro in November.
Slovenia will now set out to better their 2022 Nations League start after they lost their opening two matches in the group stages.
Kazakhstan vs Slovenia Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the maiden encounter between Kazakhstan and Slovenia, and both nations will be looking to kick off their head-to-head record on a high.
- Kazakhstan are currently on a three-game losing streak, scoring once and shipping seven goals since a 2-1 win over Belarus in September 2022.
- Slovenia are unbeaten in six games on the trot, picking up three wins and three draws since last June’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Serbia.
- Kazakhstan have shown resilience on home turf over the last two years, claiming four wins and one draw in their five matches since a 2-1 loss against Finland in October 2021.
Kazakhstan vs Slovenia Prediction
With their Nations League triumph long forgotten, Kazakhstan must stop the rot as they look to kick off their quest for a place at Euro 2024 on the front foot. However, Slovenia are no pushovers and we can expect a fight-back from Kek’s men. We predict an end-to-end affair in this one, with both sides cancelling out each other’s efforts.
Prediction: Kazakhstan 1-1 Slovenia
Kazakhstan vs Slovenia Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: More than 4.5 cards - Yes (There have been five or more bookings in Slovenia’s last five matches)
Tip 3: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have scored in four of Kek’s side’s last five matches)
