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Newly-crowned Baltic Cup champions Estonia kickoff their 2024 UEFA Nations League campaign on Thursday when they play host to Slovakia at the A. Le Coq Arena. This will be the first meeting between the sides since they faced off in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers back in 2005, when Francesco Calzona’s men won both home and away clashes in Group 3.
Estonia clinched the 2024 Baltic Cup crown in June, when they defeated Lithuania on penalties in the final to make it five title triumphs in the competition.
Having thrashed Faroe Islands 4-1 in the semi-finals on June 8, Jurgen Henn’s side beat Lithuania 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate with the Nacionalinė komanda in normal time.
Estonia now head into the UEFA Nations League, where they clinched promotion from League D in 2022 after picking up four wins from four matches to finish first in the standings.
Slovakia, on the other hand, suffered a round-of-16 exit from the 2024 European Championship last time out when they were beaten 2-1 by England in extra time.
Calzona’s men had scraped through the group stages, picking up four points from a possible nine in Group E to finish as one of the best third-placed teams.
Slovakia will look to improve on their underwhelming Nations League performance from 2022, when they finished third in the League C table, six points off first-placed Kazakhstan in the promotion spot.
Estonia vs Slovakia Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the third-ever meeting between Estonia and Slovakia, with Calzona’s men picking up two wins from their previous two encounters in the World Cup qualifiers back in 2005.
- Having secured a 2-1 victory in Tallinn on March 26, Slovakia turned in a resilient team performance in the return fixture on October 8 as they picked up a 1-0 win at the Tehelne Pole Stadion.
- Estonia are on a run of four straight wins in the UEFA Nations League, scoring 10 goals and conceding twice since losing 2-0 against Cyprus in March 2022.
- Slovakia have won just one of their last five Nations League games while losing three and picking up one draw since June 2022.
Estonia vs Slovakia Prediction
Following their Baltic Cup triumph, Estonia will head into Thursday’s clash with confidence as they look to begin their Nations League campaign on a positive note.
However, Calzona’s side boast the firepower needed to get the job done and we predict they will make it three straight wins over the hosts.
Prediction: Estonia 1-2 Slovakia
Estonia vs Slovakia Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Slovakia to win
Tip 2: First to score - Slovakia (The visitors have opened the scoring in their last six matches)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in six of Slovakia’s last eight games)
