Slovakia vs Belarus

TSC Arena, the home of Serbian outfit Backa Topola, forms the backdrop as Slovakia and Belarus meet in the final round of the 2022/23 Nations League Group C3 fixture.

Despite an unexpected 2-1 home defeat to Azerbaijan last time out, Slovakia can neither earn promotion from Nations League Group C3 nor suffer relegation, meaning this matchday-six encounter has little riding on it. Yet a potential win here coupled with Kazakhstan’s triumph over Azerbaijan would see the Slovakians secure a second-place finish for the first time. Francesco Calzona’s first-ever foray into the realm of management after being Luciano Spalletti’s assistant manager saw him lose to Azerbaijan. Seeking his maiden managerial triumph, Calzona can draw confidence from Slovakia’s impressive run of three wins ‘to nil’ across their last four internationals held on foreign soil (L1), considering this fixture will take place in Backa Topola, Serbia.

Meanwhile, visiting Belarus fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Kazakhstan a few days ago, making it no win from five Group C3 matches (D2, L3). Without any hope of securing their League C status before the relegation playoffs, the visitors can find some comfort in their recent goalscoring improvement. After firing blanks in their opening two Group C3 matches, they have netted precisely once in two of their last two Nations League outings (D1, L2). Adding to Belarus’ substantial list of worries, they’ve not won on foreign soil since September 2020, racking up eight defeats from nine international travels since (D1). On top of that, the ‘White Wings’ have suffered two losses in their three previous H2Hs against Slovakia (W1).