Tuesday, 29 March @18:30 GMT
Venue: Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki (Piraeus)
Head to head record
Iceland vs Greece 0-1 (1994 World Cup qualifiers)
Greece vs Iceland 1-0 (1994 World Cup qualifiers)
Greece vs Iceland 1-0 (1994 World Cup qualifiers)
Greece vs Iceland prediction
Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki will host the third clash between Greece and Iceland in history. The Greeks have been flawless so far against the Icelanders, but much has changed since their last meeting October 1992, so I believe we are up for a rather interesting encounter.
Greece eyeing a third home win in a row
The Ethniki recorded their consecutive triumph on home soil by beating Montenegro (2-1). All goals were seen in the second half and were scored in nine minutes. Tzavellas’ opener gave the lead to the hosts that lasted only two minutes, thanks to Darko Tomasevic’s leveler. Seven minutes later Karelis secured a win for his team and Michael Skibbe’s first win as the manager of Greece. Former European champions will miss the upcoming Euro, but the nation expects that the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen coach will return their team to winning ways. The Galanolefki will look for their third victory against Iceland as well as for their third consecutive triumph on home soil. Greece could have a problem of keeping their net intact, since they recorded a single clean sheet in their previous eleven matches, but I do expect the offense to neutralize all the mistakes made by their drafty defense.
Michael Skibbe will add Dimitris Siovas from Olympiakos, Vangelis Moras of Hellas Verona, and Watford’s Jose Holebas to the squad for the match against Iceland, as well as Dimitris Pelkas (PAOK) and Dimitris Diamantakos (Karlsruhe).
Iceland have two negative trends to arrest
The defeat against Denmark was their third in a row on their travels. Nicolai Jorgensen finished the job for the Danes, with his four-minute brace, while Arnor Traustason managed to ease the pain for Iceland in the dying moments of the match (2-1). The Strakarnir okkar have been going through a rough patch on their travels, with a mere one triumph in their last seven fixtures (L6). Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson have two negative runs to stop in the following match against Greece: to end the losing streak on the road and the losing streak against Michael Skibbe’s charges. This could prove as a mission impossible, since the Icelanders rarely snatch all three points when playing away from home, while the Greeks finally started a winning run on their turf. However, Iceland cold hit at least a goal, since they usually succeed in defeating the opposition goalkeeper at least once per game when on the road. Given the current situation, a draw should be considered as a positive result.
Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson will probably give a chance to players who did not participate in the clash with Denmark. Norrkoping‘s Arnor Ingvi Traustason could start the match, as well as Jon Bodvarsson of Kaiserslautern, Johann Gudmundsson of Charlton Athletic, and Theodor Bjarnason from AGF.
Quick Facts
- Greece won both of their previous encounters with Iceland
- The Strakarnir okkar lost their last three games
- The Ethniki recorded back-to-back wins on home soil
- Lars Lagerback’s men lost six of their previous seven away matches
- Both of thei previous matches were decided y a single goal
Greece vs Iceland betting tip
Given the fact that Greece have been rather efficient on home turf in their last couple of matches, while Iceland usually manage to hit at least one goal on their travels, I reckon the fans could witness a spectacle this time out. However, judging by the current negative away run of Iceland, I do believe hosts will continue their flawless record against the Strakarnir okkar and record another home triumph.
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