Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Sweden and Azerbaijan face each other at Strawberry Arena in a David-vs-Goliath clash. The Swedes have already secured top position in Group 1 and they must be high on confidence following a 2-1 win over Slovakia. Even though Jon Dahl Tomasson is expected to mix the squad, home win should be considered as Sweden have turned Strawberry Arena into a real fortress. Defender Isak Hien is banned for Tuesday’s clash, while Victor Lindelof should miss out with injury.
The visitors, on the other hand, head into the match following a goalless draw with Estonia. As Estonia are stuck at the bottom with only one point on their account and with nothing to play for in the last group game, anything but a routine home win would be a big a surprise. Elvin Cafarquliyev misses out through suspension, while Rahil Mammadov has been ruled out with injury.
Highlighted Team (Sweden):
Sweden are the most successful Nordic side on international stage having been present at major competitions since 1934. Blagult missed out on the 1952 World Cup trophy on home soil as they were beaten by star-studded Brazil side, while they finished in third place at the 1950 and 1994 tournaments, and finishing fourth on their second appearance in 1938.
As far as their European Championship record is concerned, Sweden also achieved their best result in front of home fans, reaching the last four in 1992, and they have since reached the quarter-finals at Euro 1994 in Portugal.
Anders Svensson and Thomas Ravelli are team’s most capped players with over 140 appearances each, but it is strikers Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic that will go down as the most famous Swedish footballers in history. The later also leads the goalscoring charts with over 60 strikes for the national team and he is widely regarded as one of the most colourful characters, not only in Scandinavia, but in world football.