Both looking to record their maiden successes of the calendar year, Latvia will pit their wits against European minnows Liechtenstein on Tuesday night at Stadio Antonis Papadopoulos in an international friendly.
The 11 Wolves earned a draw in their first match of the March international break versus Cyprus, whilst the Blue-Reds were thrashed by the Faroe Islands earlier in the pause.
Match preview
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After enduring a three-game losing run at the end of their European Championship qualifying run against Turkey, Croatia and Poland, Latvia recorded their first positive result in a fixture since the middle of October, with the 11 Wolves sharing the spoils with Cyprus at AEK Arena on Thursday.
The hosts went into the half-time break with a one-goal advantage courtesy of a 34th-minute strike from Ioannis Pittas, however the visitors were able to clear the deficit to collect their maiden draw in any fixture since November 2022, with Andrejs Ciganiks scoring an equaliser with five minutes left on the clock.
In a Euro qualifying group which saw the likes of Turkey, Croatia and Rob Page's Wales fight for top-two supremacy and an automatic place in Germany, Dainis Kazakevics's men finished bottom of the five-team section, having collected just three points and a single win from eight contests.
Largely due to the difficulty of opponents, Latvia enjoyed a far greater 2022 compared to last year, with the 11 Wolves winning four straight games across their 2022-23 Nations League campaign, finishing top of the group, meaning that they will take their place in League C alongside the Faroe Islands, North Macedonia and Armenia later this year.
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Having lost all 10 of their Euro qualifying matches in 2023 to ensure that they got nowhere near earning a spot in this summer's tournament in Germany, Liechtenstein commenced their 2024 schedule with their heaviest defeat since the 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Iceland almost a year ago.
With Friday's opponents Faroe Islands also going through their qualifying group winless, many expected the clash to be a close one, however that could not have been further from reality, with a brace from Paetur Petersen followed by strikes by Adrian Justinussen and Arnbjorn Svensson securing a four-goal victory for the hosts.
Placed 202nd in the FIFA world rankings, Konrad Funfstuck's side are at no risk of moving up the standings with any speed considering that they have lost 24 straight matches across competitive and friendly fixtures, with their last positive result arriving during a World Cup qualifier versus Armenia in September 2021.
The Blue-Reds will be looking to record their maiden victory in any form since a friendly encounter with fellow minnows Luxembourg in October 2020, when goals from Fabio Wolfinger and Nicolas Hasler were enough to sentence Gerson Rodrigues's strike to the category of consolations.
Team News
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Looking to find out their entire squad's capabilities before their Nations League C campaign commences in September, Latvia should make alterations from the side that drew with Cyprus, with the likes of Vitalijs Jagodinskis and Roberts Savalnieks pushing for starts in defence.
After providing the assist for the 11 Wolves' equaliser at AEK Arena, Riga midfielder Marko Regza should be afforded the luxury of earning his eighth Latvia cap from the start on Tuesday.
Liechtenstein will also be looking to make changes following the four-goal thrashing to Faroe Islands, with FC Vaduz goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel potentially taking a rest.
That alteration would allow Lorenzo Lo Russo to make his debut for the Blue-Reds at the age of 30, following appearances for the Under-19s and Under-21s earlier on in his career.
Latvia possible starting lineup:
Matrevics; Balodis, Dubra, Jurkovskis; Jaunzems, Emsis, Saveljevs, Ciganikis; Regza, Daskevics, Uldrikis
Liechtenstein possible starting lineup:
Russo; Malin, Traber, Beck; S Wolfinger, Luchinger, Netzer, Sele, Goppel; Graber, Saglam
We say: Latvia 2-0 Liechtenstein
Having earned their first decent result in over a year last time out, Latvia should be confident of easing past a Liechtenstein side who are enduring a record-breaking losing run.
The Blue-Reds showed no signs of possible success against the Faroe Islands on Friday, and we reckon that it could be a similar story in Larnaca on Tuesday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
