Prediction: Kazakhstan vs Denmark

Verdict: Total goals over 2.5

Best odds: 4/6

Bookmaker: Unibet

Kazakhstan are set to welcome Denmark to the Astana Arena in the nation’s capital on Sunday, withing the second round of the qualifications for the European Championship next year. It’s an important clash between the two sides, as they both have hopes of making it into the final tournament.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan didn’t make it into the World Cup and are yet to make an appearance in any major international tournament. But in the Nations League, they finished top of League C Group 3, ahead of Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Belarus, thus earning a place in League B of the next edition of the competition.

They may not be the favourites to win this group – that title arguably belongs to Denmark – but given the setup in which the top two teams from each group qualify directly, they will be aiming to finish second at least, and that doesn’t appear outside their capabilities right now.

However, the team under the command of Magomed Adiyev needs to get its act straight as soon as possible after the disappointing 1-2 defeat at home at the hands of Slovenia in the opening round. It was Maksim Samorodov who broke the deadlock for Kazakhstan in that game, but second-half goals from David Brekalo and Zan Vipotnik saw Slovenia head home with the three points safely packed in their bags.

Team News

Adiyev won’t be able to count on right-back Marat Bystrov, who limped off the pitch late in the game against Slovenia.

Igor Shatskiy will be in goal. Centre-backs Temirlan Erlanov, Aleksandr Marochkin and Serhiy Maliy should be flanked by Mikhail Gabyshev and Yan Vorogovskiy in a back line of five. Aslan Darabaev and Askhat Tagybergen will play in the middle of the park, with Ramazan Orazov and Samorodov out wide, while Abat Aymbetov leads the line as the only attacker in the team.

Denmark

Denmark played a very disappointing World Cup last year, getting only a point from a group containing France, Tunisia and Australia, and finishing last. On the other hand, they had a very good campaign in the UEFA Nations League, ending it in second place in League A Group 1, behind Croatia by a single point, and ahead of France and Austria.

They started these qualifications very well, getting back at Finland for the Euro 2020 defeat which saw Christian Eriksen suffer a cardiac arrest. Playing at the same venue, the Parken in Copenhagen, they won by 3-1, courtesy of Rasmus Hojlund hat-trick.

Denmark’s plan is, of course, to finish top of this group, and the quality in their ranks should be enough to get them there.

Team News

Eriksen missed the Finland clash and will miss this one as well. The Manchester United midfielder is out for another month with an ankle injury.

Also, Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen was left out of the squad for this international break, having not recovered from an injury he picked up in the warm-up preceding his team’s clash with Arsenal last week. To make matters even worse, Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen was forced off the pitch after 18 minutes against Finland, and it has been confirmed that he faces some time in the treatment room.

Kasper Schmeichel will be between the posts. With no Andersen or Christensen, coach Kasper Hjulmand is expected to cut one centre-back out from his system for this game and revert to a back four, with Simon Kjaer and Victor Nelson flanked by Alexander Bah and Joachim Maehle in more traditional fullback roles. The Premier League trio of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Christian Norgaard and Mathias Jensen is expected to contest the middle of the park against the opposition, while Mikkel Damsgaard and hat-trick hero Hojlund support striker Jonas Wind upfront.

Conclusion

There’s 98 places in FIFA’s rankings between Denmark and Kazakhstan, and their last four clashes all ended with a Denmark victory. That aside, the Danes simply have a lot more quality in their ranks and they’re likely to leave Astana victorious. The odds on that happening are very short, so it might be more interesting to go for goals.

Verdict: Total goals over 2.5

Best odds: 4/6

Bookmaker: Unibet