Armenia and Turkey will kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaigns when they face off at Yerevan’s Republican Stadium on Saturday.
Joining Croatia, Latvia and Wales in Group D, Armenia and Turkey will both be eager to clinch a top-two berth and reach the competition proper in Germany next year.
That said, Armenia are one of the outsiders to qualify from Group D, while Turkey are among the favourites to advance.
Armenia head into Saturday’s clash on a seven-game winless run across all competitions, having recorded six losses and one draw since their last victory.
After losing their final five Nations League matches last year, Armenia played out a 2-2 friendly draw with Kosovo before losing 2-0 to Albania last time out.
It is also worth noting that Armenia managed to win just three of their 10 qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, finishing third from bottom in their group.
Having only won three of their previous 19 European Championship qualifiers, the Armenians are not expected to upset the odds in Group D.
As for Turkey, they recorded 2-1 friendly wins against Scotland and the Czech Republic when they last took to the field back in November.
That means the Cresent-Stars have won six of their previous eight matches in all competitions, registering one draw and one loss in the process.
Turkey enjoyed a hugely impressive Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, losing just one of their 10 matches to finish two points behind France in Group H.
Better still, Turkey have suffered a solitary defeat in their past 18 European Championship qualifiers, so they will be confident of dispatching Armenia.
Head-to-head: The only previous meetings between Armenia and Turkey came back in 2008 and 2009, during qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
Turkey won both matches 2-0, meaning they boast a 100% record against Armenia. Can the Cresent-Stars make it three wins from three games on Saturday?
Team news: Armenia’s danger man is Lucas Zelarayan, who has bagged 33 goals and 17 assists in 90 games for Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew.
Turkey could hand international debuts to 18-year-old Torino midfielder Emirhan Ilkhan and 19-year-old Westerlo midfielder Ravil Tagir.
When you couple Armenia’s poor recent form with Turkey’s impressive European Championship qualifying record, all the signs point towards a comfortable away win.
Forebet predicts that Turkey will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to victory in Armenia.