Greece and Cyprus will meet for the 31st time in international competition on Thursday in Nations League C Group 2 play. The Greeks have started this year’s Nations League in brilliant form and will be looking for a third straight win in the competition.
Cyprus picked up just one point from the opening six available to them in the Nations League. The Cypriots lost 2-0 to Kosovo before drawing nil-nil with Northern Ireland on matchday 2 of Group 2.
1η προπόνηση στον Βόλο 🌧 #training #nationalteam pic.twitter.com/LzM4gzJmYO— Ethniki Omada (@EthnikiOmada) June 6, 2022
1η προπόνηση στον Βόλο 🌧 #training #nationalteam pic.twitter.com/LzM4gzJmYO
Gus Poyet’s Greece have been excellent with back-to-back 1-0 wins against Northern Ireland and Kosovo. In both matches, Trabzonspor midfielder Anastasios Bakasetas scored just after the half an hour mark to give Greece the win.
Greece and Cyprus have a long history of playing against each other. The teams have met 30 times previously with Greece posting a record of 20W-7D-3L. The Greeks are on a six-match winning streak versus Cyprus heading into the game on Thursday at home.
The teams last met in 2020 with Greece pulling off a 2-1 home win. Thursday’s match will be Greece’s first game in the current edition of the Nations League to be played at home. Their 1-0 wins over Kosovo and Northern Ireland were impressive due to going on the road to get the victories.
Greece have had a strong 2022 under Poyet. They have three wins and one loss in four matches. Cyprus have been decent this year with one win, two draws, and a loss. However, the Cypriots are coming off of an abysmal 2021 in which they failed to win nine straight games – eight of which were losses.
Against Northern Ireland, Cyprus played 3-5-2 formation to clog up the midfield. It worked but in two Nations League games this summer, Cyprus have failed to score goals.
In fact, Cyprus have not scored a goal in three of their four matches in 2022. Cyprus kept 41% possession against the Northern Irish while tallying 10 shots with two on target.
Greece are the masters of the 1-0 win. Three of their four games this year finished as 1-0 wins. Their only loss was a 1-0 defeat to Montenegro. All four games finished with under 2.5 goals and Thursday’s match should be another with fewer than 2.5 goals.
Poyet will likely stick with a 4-3-3 formation the goal scorer Bakasetas taking up a place on the left side of a midfield three. Celtic’s Giorgos Giakoumakis will likely start once more through the middle. Liverpool’s Kosta Tsimikas will start at left-back once more.
The Greeks should continue their excellent form versus Cyprus and claim another win. Expect this to be a third straight win to nil for Greece with under 2.5 goals scored.