Lativa are set to host Faroe Islands at the Daugava Stadium on Tuesday in the Baltic Cup third-place playoff.
Serial winners Latvia lost to Lithuania 2-0 last time out in the first stage of the tournament while debutants Faroe Islands lost 4-1 to Estonia.
Match preview
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Even if the hosts win and finish third they will naturally be disappointed with their campaign as it would represent their worst placement in the biennial tournament since 1996.
In fact, of the three permanent members of the Baltic Cup, Lativa have won the competition a record 13 times.
The 2022 iteration of the tournament saw the 11 Wolves lose to guests Iceland on penalties in the final, while the prior edition also saw them lose in the final against Estonia.
Latvia have lost three of their last four games in the competition, an unusually poor record considering they were unbeaten in their prior 13 games, a run stretching back to 2008.
However, Tuesday's hosts' overall form has been particularly concerning as they have lost 12 of their last 17 fixtures.
Manager Paolo Nicolato was appointed in February and has led his side to two draws and a defeat in his three matches in charge, and while this is not exactly an exceptional record, he did end a run of three consecutive losses.
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Although Latvia failed to qualify for the Euros and cannot win the Baltic Cup, they will hope to build momentum heading into the UEFA Nations League later this year when they will also face Faroe Islands in their group.
The visitors were invited to play in the competition as guests and, though they cannot win the tournament, they do have the opportunity to win their second game in four matches, a vein of relative form they last experienced between June and September 2022.
Though Faroe Islands did win 4-0 over Liechtenstein in late March, they have since lost twice against Denmark and Estonia.
In fact, since October 7, 2020 the away side have failed to win 34 of their last 41 games, losing 24 times in the process.
Faroe Islands also finished bottom of their Euro 2024 qualifying group, picking up just two points from their eight games while also conceding 13 goals.
Manager Hakan Ericson has been in charge since December 2019 and although he only has a 21% win record, he still managed to secure the Faroese national team's biggest ever victory, their first-ever competitive tournament win in the UEFA Nations League D and the longest unbeaten record in their history, spanning four games.
Team News
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The hosts will hope forward Raimonds Krollis can replicate his performance against Liechtenstein in late March on Tuesday, a game in which he managed to equalise after 11 minutes.
Latvia are also likely to use Eduards Daskevics in the front three, while Raivis Jurkovskis, Kaspars Dubra and Kristers Tobers could continue in central defence.
As for the away side, they have deployed vastly different backlines in their last three games including three different goalkeepers, two different right-backs and three separate centre-back pairings.
Left-back Viljormur Davidsen has been a consistent starter including in his side's last win against Liechtenstein.
Forward Joan Edmundsson will almost certainly play considering he has started the last three games, while Paetur Petersen could be in line for a start alongside Edmundsson after being benched in the last two fixtures.
Latvia possible starting lineup:
Ozols; Dubra, Tobers, Jurkovskis; Savalnieks, Saveljevs, Zelenkovs, Ciganiks; Ikaunieks, Krollis, Daskevics
Faroe Islands possible starting lineup:
Reynatrod; Davidsen, Chukwudi, A Edmundsson, Sorensen; Olsen, Radosavljevic, Joensen, Knudsen; Petersen, J Edmundsson
We say: Latvia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Although Faroe Islands have experienced relative success under manager Ericson, they could find difficulty on Tuesday given their hosts' pedigree in the Baltic Cup.
Additionally, Latvia will be keen to avoid a fourth-placed finish as it would represent their worst-ever placement in the competition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
