Nations League | League C

Oct 15, 2024 at 7.45pm UK

ZTE-Arena

Belarus vs Luxembourg

Match preview

After a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland on Saturday night, Belarus stayed a point ahead of their opponents in the Group 3 table, which means they're on track for a top-two finish next month.

Young goalkeeper Fedor Lapoukhov had to make a series of impressive saves during the first half in Zalaegerszeg. The Dinamo Minsk player made four crucial stops that kept Michael O'Neill's team from scoring.

Carlos Alos should stick with the forward duo of Dmitri Antilevski and Yevgeni Shikavka, even though neither has scored in the last three Nations League games. Especially since fellow forward Ivan Bakhar is out of this month's training camp because of injury.

With five points from three games so far, Belarus have already done better than they did in the last Nations League. In that competition, they didn't win a single game and finished at the bottom of their group, behind Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Slovakia.

The wait for a first major finals appearance continues for the White Wings, who missed out on Euro 2024 by just three points. However, they are now halfway towards securing promotion to League B.

Spanish coach Carlos Alos, who took charge in late 2023, has seen his side keep clean sheets in each group game so far. After holding Bulgaria to a goalless draw in their opener, Belarus beat Luxembourg 1-0 last month.

After Valeri Gromyko's late winner on that occasion, they've won all three previous Nations League matches against Tuesday's opponents without conceding a goal.

Luxembourg has made a name for itself as one of Europe's most improved teams in recent years, steadily climbing up the FIFA world rankings. However, despite this impressive progress, they have only managed to beat Belarus once in six meetings since 2015.

The Red Lions even made it to the Euro 2024 playoff semi-finals after posting a national record 17 points from 10 qualifiers, but that progress has since stalled in the 2024-25 Nations League.

The squad, still overseen by long-serving coach Luc Holtz, didn't get any points or goals last month. This puts them in danger of being relegated to League D.

Meanwhile, Luxembourg boss Luc Holtz has to decide whether to start Gerson Rodrigues. He was recalled following a disciplinary issue during last month's international period.

The roaming striker had a limited role at the weekend, with Daniel Sinani and Alessio Curci partnering up front. Unfortunately, Les Lions Rouges didn't manage to get a shot on target.

Luxembourg had another lacklustre display in Bulgaria on Saturday evening, failing to record a single shot on target. At least it got them off the mark in Group 3, but a 0-0 draw leaves them last in the table and three points behind third-placed Northern Ireland.

The return of Gerson Rodrigues, who scored the most goals in the team's history, will be a boost for the team. He played as a substitute in Plovdiv, so he should be able to help the team score. However, Holtz has said that the striker is not as fit as he could be, since he moved to China.

Recent Performance

Belarus Nations League form:DWD

Belarus form (all competitions):DLLDWD

Luxembourg Nations League form:LLD

Luxembourg form (all competitions):WLLLLD

Injuries and suspensions

Belarus

No sidelined players

Luxembourg

No sidelined players

Possible starting lineups

Belarus possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Volkov, Palitsevich, Zabelin; Karpovich, Yablonsky, Ebong, Pyachenin; Antilevski, Shikavka, Kontsevoy

Luxembourg possible starting lineup:

Moris; Korac, Carlson, Jans; C. Martins; Bohnert, Pinto, Barreiro, Olesen; Sinani, Rodrigues