Albania v Moldova Betting Tips [17 June 2023]

Albania will be hoping to earn their first points in the Euro 2024 qualifiers when they play host to Moldova on Saturday. The hosts currently sit at the foot of Group E after losing their opening match to Poland 1-0. Currently ranked 68th in the world according to FIFA, Albania have struggled in recent years on the international stage and comes into this match having only won a single friendly in their last 12 matches in all competitions. That win came over Armenia at home in November last year, which was also the last match they played on home soil. Before that, the hosts failed to win any of their previous five, losing two and drawing three. The last time these sides met was in this competition back in 2019, and Albania won handsomely 4-0. They have not conceded against this opponent in their last three encounters either and will fancy their chances of securing another win this time around.

Meanwhile, Moldova would be fairly content with their start in this competition. They took a point from each of their first two matches, drawing 1-1 to the Faroe Islands in their opening match and then holding the Czech Republic to a very credible stalemate a few days later. Their two points puts them third in Group E, just a point behind Poland in second and two off the leaders, Czech Republic. However, with those two draws, Moldova comes into this one winless in their last four matches, losing the other two to Romania and Azerbaijan in November last year. It has been nine months since they've played an away match, with the last one ending in a 2-1 win over Latvia last September. They are unbeaten in their last three on the road, with two wins and a draw. Despite being ranked over 100 places below their opponent, Moldova will feel that they can take something from this one.

Both of these sides have improved their defences notably in recent times, as they showed in their earlier matches in this competition, where they held off significantly higher-ranked opponents in Poland and Czech Republic. Neither side will want to lose this one, and we could see this match remain at 0-0 for a long while, with the first goal possibly ending up being the winner. Therefore, our Albania vs Moldova prediction: Under 2.5