Malta host Azerbaijan at the Ta' Qali Stadium on Friday for an international friendly.The Falcons are looking to rebuild after enduring another tough spell last year.They finished bottom of Group H in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers after collecting only five points from 10 games, winning just once.The side will now begin their preparations for the UEFA Nations League, set to take place in June as they face San Marino and one of either Cyprus or Estonia in League D.Azerbaijan also endured a similar fate in the qualifiers last year, finishing last in Group A with no wins to show for their efforts and collecting just a single point.Gianni De Biasi's side are now winless in eight games on the bounce in all competitions.Malta vs Azerbaijan Head-To-headThere have been only eight clashes between the sides in history, with Malta winning thrice and losing on just two occasions to Azerbaijan.However, each of their last three encounters have ended in draws, including a pair of 1-1 stalemates in their UEFA Nations League games in 2018.Photo Stock@PhotoStockaz#Pressconference of the head coach of the #Azerbaijani national #football #team #GianniDeBiasi before the visit to #Malta: March 22, 2022#Azerbaijan, #Baku Photo: Firudin Salimov #PhotoStock#affa #soccer #football #sportphotography #italian #coach #sports #sportstyle6:56 AM · Mar 22, 20222#Pressconference of the head coach of the #Azerbaijani national #football #team #GianniDeBiasi before the visit to #Malta: March 22, 2022#Azerbaijan, #Baku Photo: Firudin Salimov #PhotoStock#affa #soccer #football #sportphotography #italian #coach #sports #sportstyle https://t.co/fnjpLOC92lMalta Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-D-L-LAzerbaijan Form Guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-LMalta vs Azerbaijan Team NewsMaltaThe Falcons have named 29 players for their upcoming friendlies as Ferdinando Apap, Matthew Calleja Cremona, Nikolai Muscat, Brandon Paiber and Jan Busuttil all return.Steve Borg, who missed their last international window through an injury, is also back in the fold.Experienced defender Andrei Agius was also called up but he's announced his retirement from international football.Injured: NoneSuspended: NoneUnavailable: NoneMalta FA@MaltaFA1900Defender Andrei Agius announced his retirement from the #Malta NT Malta FA thanks Andrei Agius for his service with the Malta National Team. games and scored in his year career with the NTHis last game is a friendly vs #Azerbaijan 25th March 20222:59 AM · Feb 8, 2022172👉Defender Andrei Agius announced his retirement from the #Malta NT 🇲🇹 👏 Malta FA thanks Andrei Agius for his service with the Malta National Team.1️⃣0️⃣2️⃣ games and scored 6️⃣ in his 1️⃣6️⃣ year career with the NTHis last game is a friendly vs #Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 25th March 2022 https://t.co/SuoIhOPqQuAzerbaijanHead coach Gianni De Biasi has called up a 24-man squad for this month's friendlies against Malta and Latvia.Senior players like Maksim Medvedev, Ramil Sheydayev and Gara Garayev all feature.Portugal-based striker Renat Dadashov will hope to finally open his account for Azerbaijan after firing a blank on all of his previous 10 attempts.Injured: NoneSuspended: NoneUnavailable: NoneMalta vs Azerbaijan Predicted XIMalta (4-3-3): Henry Bonello; James Brown, Zach Muscat, Triston Caruana, Jean Borg; Joseph Mbong, Matthew Guillaumier, Steven Pisani; Jurgen Degabriele, Luke Montebello, Alexander Satariano.Azerbaijan (4-2-3-1): Mehdi Jannatov; Maksim Medvedev, Bahlul Mustafazada, Hojjat Hagverdi, Azar Salahli; Gara Garayev, Filip Ozobic; Emin Mahmudov, Dmitri Nazarov, Eddy Israfilov; Ramil Sheydayev.Malta vs Azerbaijan PredictionThis is a clash between two lowly-ranked sides, winless in their last couple of games.With a similar level of quality in both squads, and very little at stake here, we're predicting a drab stalemate.Prediction: Malta 0-0 Azerbaijan