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Malta kick off their UEFA Nations League campaign on Sunday when they visit the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle to face San Marino.
The hosts, meanwhile, will be looking to get up and running in the tournament after suffering an opening-day loss to Estonia.
San Marino were denied a dream start to their Nations League campaign as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Estonia on Thursday.
They have now lost each of their last 16 outings since a goalless draw with Gibraltar in the Nations League in November 2020.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing side who have failed to win any of their last seven outings, losing five and picking up two draws in that time.
Meanwhile, Malta were last in action in November 2021 when they played out a 2-2 draw with Cyprus in Group H of the World Cup qualifiers.
Prior to that, they were on a run of five consecutive defeats, scoring one and conceding 11 in that time.
Malta head into the weekend winless in each of their last seven games across all competitions, dating back to a 1-0 victory over Latvia in October 2020.
San Marino vs Malta Head-To-Head
This will be the second-ever meeting between the sides, with their first encounter coming in August 2012, when Malta picked up a 3-2 friendly victory.
San Marino Form Guide: L-L-L-L-L
Malta Form Guide: D-L-L-L-L
San Marino vs Malta Team News
San Marino
San Marino will be without Manuel Battistini after the 27-year-old defender came off with a game-ending injury inside the opening 21 minutes against Estonia on Thursday.
Injured: Manuel Battistini
Suspended: None
Malta
Malta have named 26 players for their upcoming Nations League games, including Casa Pia defender Zach Muscat and veteran goalkeeper Henry Bonello.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
San Marino vs Malta Predicted XI
San Marino Predicted XI (3-5-2): Elia Benedettini; Alessandro D'Addario, Mirko Palazzi, Filippo Fabbri; Tommaso Zafferani, Alessandro Golinucci, Michael Battistini, Marcello Mularoni, Andrea Grandoni; Matteo Vitaioli, Nicola Nanni
Malta Predicted XI (3-4-3): Henry Bonello; Karl Micallef, Enrico Pepe, Zach Muscat; Joseph Mbong, Ryan Camenzuli, Teddy Teuma, Matthew Guillaumier; Paul Mbong, Jurgen Degabriele, Luke Gambin
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San Marino vs Malta Prediction
While Sunday’s game will be Malta’s first outing since the turn of the year, they are slight favourites to claim the win as they face a significantly less superior San Marino side.
We are backing the visitors to come away with all three points and kick-off their campaign on a high.
Prediction: San Marino 0-2 Malta
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