On the face of it, this might seem like a nothing-tie between two lesser known European teams; however, Georgia have made real progress in recent times and are slowly making a name for themselves as a competitive side rather than an “also-ran”.
Last time out against Wales, the Georgians proved to a wider audience that they can mix it with good teams and were arguably unlucky to leave Cardiff with just a point.
The hosts may have only taken one point from their three qualification matches so far, but this really doesn’t do them justice and they are strongly fancied to significantly improve this tally against Moldova on home soil. At odds of 11/10, ‘Georgia to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’ looks a very good bet.
In their three matches so far, the Georgians have faced Austria, Ireland and Wales. Three fairly tough games. Firstly they were unlucky to lose to Austria (1-2) on match-day one – the hosts enjoyed a majority share of the possession and certainly created the more clear-cut chances. It was a similar story next time out when losing 1-0 away from home against Ireland – defeated through a lack of end-product rather than anything else. However, last time out against Wales, Georgia put in perhaps their best display in recent times and were fully deserving of their point. If they are able to match such a performance at home against minnows Moldova, then taking all three points should be nothing more than a formality.
As for the visitors, Moldova have started the campaign as you’d expect – beaten every time and beaten well. They were humbled 4-0 by Wales on match-day one before losing 3-0 and 3-1 against Serbia and Ireland respectively. Saturday’s visitors showed very little in each of those matches and they are expected to meet a similar fate on match-day four.
If we look at their recent record, we can see that Moldova struggle against pretty much all opposition. They’ve lost each of their last five (against Ireland, Serbia, Croatia, Wales and Switzerland), conceding 13 and scoring just two in the process. Additionally, they’ve lost six of their last ten away matches, conceding two or more in four of those. Losing six of their last ten might suggest that they’re capable of getting results, but it’s important to note that the four times they avoided defeat on the road during this spell was against the lowest of the low in terms of European footballing prowess. Liechtenstein, San Marino, Luxembourg and Malta offer almost no resistance and in drawing 1-1, 0-0, 0-0 and winning 1-0 Moldova don’t deserve much credit.
The fact that the home side have scored two or more in three of their last four wins in front of a home crowd also bodes well ahead of this fixture.
Overall Georgia have impressed in their three qualifying matches so far, showing that they’re comfortable in possession and are capable of getting the ball on the deck in order to create forward openings. What’s more is that, in attacking midfielder Jano Ananidze, they have a technically gifted player who is capable of making things happen in the final third and, against a weak Moldova back-line, the 24 year-old should get plenty of joy and can play a big role in helping his team secure a solid home win.
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