Our prediction for this Nations League match:
After suffering a 2-1 loss to Kazakhstan in their last group game, Slovakia will be aiming to return to winning ways in the Nations League when they face Azerbaijan at City Arena Trnava. The Slovaks aim to stay in the race for top position, and we are positive that they will go all guns blazing at the Azeri. Trabzon midfielder Marek Hamsik retired from international football in May, and, in his absence, a man to watch in the home team will be Napoli ace Stanislav Lobotka, who has been producing excellent displays in the Serie A this term.
Inter defender Milan Skriniar made the cut as well, while Koln midfielder Ondrej Duda is banned for the match. The visitors, on the other hand, aim to build on a 2-0 win over Belarus, but seeing that Slovakia are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we do not believe that the visitors are capable of grabbing something from the match.
Highlighted Player (Stanislav Lobotka):
Born in Trencin on November 25, 1994, Stanislav Lobotka is a Slovakia international who plays for Celta Vigo in La Liga. Lobotka began his youth career at his hometown club AAC Sparta Trencin and he made his senior debut for fellow local club Trencin. In 2013 he signed a loan deal with Dutch side Ajax, but he played for Jong Ajax during the 2013/2014 season.
In the summer of 2014, the Slovakian midfielder returned to Trencin, where he made 74 appearances in the league in total. In 2015 Stanislav Lobotka joined Danish side Nordsjaelland shortly before the transfer window closed. Lobotka made his debut in the Danish top flight against Brondby on August 30, 2015.
Two years later he decided to make a step forward in his career, signing a five-year contract with La Liga side Celta Vigo. Speaking of his international career, the Celta Vigo midfielder made his Slovakia debut against Austria in November2016. It has to be noted that Lobotka became the first Slovak to score at Wembley, finding the net in a 2018 World Cup qualifier against England.
Highlighted Team (Azerbaijan):
Azerbaijan footballers were playing for Soviet Union national team from 1920 to 1991. In 1991 Azerbaijan gained its independence and they have been competing on the international stage ever since. The Azeri have yet to qualify for the finals of a major tournament, but they have been producing fine performances ever since Robert Prosinecki took over the reins.
On September 17, 1992 the Milli suffered a 6-3 loss to Georgia in their first international match and seven years later they recorded their biggest win, with the team beating Liechtenstein 4-0 in front of home fans in Baku. The Azerbaijan national football team wear blue shirts and blue shorts when playing at home ground, while the colour of their away kit is red.
Gurban Gurbanov is the most capped played (68) and the legendary attacker, who played for Azerbaijan from 1992 to 2005), scored 14 goals for the national team. It has to be noted that the former Soviet republic play their home matches at Baku Olympic Stadium, which was opened on March 6, 2015.