Sweden and Azerbaijan go head-to-head at the Friends Arena in Group F of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers on Monday.
Off the back of their opening-day defeats, both sides will be looking to bounce back and get their respective campaigns back on track.
Sweden were denied a dream start to their quest for a place in Germany as they fell to a 3-0 loss against a rampant Belgium side on Friday.
Prior to that, Janne Andersson’s men were on a blistering run of four consecutive friendly wins, scoring eight goals and keeping two clean sheets in that time.
While the Blågult will be looking to bounce back, they have struggled in competitive outings, with their last competitive victory coming last June, when they edged out Slovenia in their UEFA Nations League group opener.
Like the hosts, Azerbaijan were thrashed 4-1 by Austria at the Raiffeisen Arena in Friday’s group curtain-raiser.
Prior to that, the Milli komanda were on a run of five consecutive wins across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and keeping two clean sheets.
Following Friday’s defeat, Azerbaijan will look to pick up a morale-boosting result as they eye their first-ever Euro appearance.
Match Details:
- Match: Sweden vs Azerbaijan
- Date: 28 March 2023
- Time: 12:15 am
- Venue: Friends Arena
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Prediction
We anticipate an end-to-end affair at the Friends Arena on Monday as both sides look to bounce back from their opening-day defeat. Given the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides, we are backing Sweden to see off the visitors, who are currently ranked 98 places below in the latest FIFA World Rankings.
Prediction: Sweden 2-0 Azerbaijan
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Head-To-Head
- This will be the third-ever meeting between the two nations, with Sweden winning their previous two encounters.
- Sweden and Azerbaijan first met in September 2000, when the Blågult scraped a 1-0 victory in Baku, 11 months before picking up a more comfortable 3-0 home victory.
- Sweden have failed to win their last six competitive matches, losing five and claiming one draw since last June.
- Azerbaijan have won five of their most recent six matches in all competitions, with Friday’s loss to Austria being the exception.
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Live Stream Time
This match will start from 12:15 am
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Date
This match will take place on 28 March 2023
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Team News
Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his long-awaited comeback in a Sweden shirt during the second half of his nation’s defeat to Belgium on Friday, and the 41-year-old is primed to start against Azerbaijan in an attempt to provide some inspiration to his teammates.
That would likely see Tottenham Hotspur man Dejan Kulusevski shift to a more natural right-sided role having started more centrally alongside Alexander Isak last time out, while Celtic defender Carl Starfelt may be primed for a starting berth.
Azerbaijan, of course, lack the squad depth compared to countries such as their forthcoming opponents, with De Biasi unlikely to make many changes despite his side’s disappointing defeat to Austria.
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Lineups
Sweden:
Olsen; Wahlqvist, Lindelof, Starfelt, Augustinsson; Kulusevski, Olsson, Svanberg, Forsberg; Ibrahimovic, Isak
Azerbaijan:
Imanov; Haghverdi, Mustafazada, Hesenalizade, Cafarguliyev; Mahmudov, Eddy; Kokcu, Isayev, Sheydayev; Dadashov
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Odds
We say: Sweden 2-0 Azerbaijan
Despite suffering a convincing defeat to Belgium on Friday, we expect Sweden to bounce back with a relatively comfortable victory against Azerbaijan at Friends Stadium.
Although the visitors do not represent the pushovers they may have done around a decade ago, the return of Ibrahimovic should provide plenty of character and ability to Sweden’s frontline, especially with Kulusevski able to enjoy starting from a wider position.
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Stats
- Sweden 55.02%
- Azerbaijan 20.4%
- Draw 24.55%
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Tips
Tip 1: Result – Sweden
Tip 2: More than 4.5 cards – Yes (There have been five or more bookings in four of Azerbaijan’s last five outings)
Tip 3: Less than 10.5 corners – Yes (There have been fewer than 11 corner kicks in four of Sweden’s last five games)
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Betting Trends
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Sweden win with a probability of 55.04%. A draw has a probability of 24.6% and a win for Azerbaijan has a probability of 20.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sweden win is 1-0 with a probability of 12.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome are 2-0 (10.67%) and 2-1 (9.55%). The likeliest drawn scoreline is 1-1 (11.61%), while for an Azerbaijan win it is 0-1 (7.07%).
Sweden vs Azerbaijan Where To Watch Live UEFA European Championship Qualifying Today Match
This Match will be streamed live on the Sonyliv app.