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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-head
There 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.
Malta Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-D-L-L
Azerbaijan Form Guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-L
Malta vs Azerbaijan Team News
Malta
The 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: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Azerbaijan
Head 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: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Malta vs Azerbaijan Predicted XI
Malta (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 Prediction
This 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
