Preview: Liechtenstein vs. Luxembourg - prediction, team news, lineups

Luxembourg will be looking to end what has been a strong Euro 2024 qualification campaign on a positive note when they tackle Group J strugglers Liechtenstein on Sunday night.

The visitors will finish third in the section regardless of what happens in the final set of fixtures, but they can still qualify for next summer's European Championship through the UEFA Nations League C playoffs.

Match preview

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Liechtenstein are now on a 22-game losing run in all competitions following their 2-0 reverse at home to Portugal on Thursday evening, with the result keeping them bottom of Group J on zero points.

The Blue-Reds have unsurprisingly never qualified for the finals of a European Championship, while they have only ever won five qualification matches for the tournament, which is a staggering statistic.

Liechtenstein last managed to avoid defeat in September 2021 against Armenia, but their last victory actually came against Luxembourg - a 2-1 success in a friendly back in October 2020.

The strugglers have not managed to win a competitive fixture since September 2020, and they suffered a 2-0 defeat when they took on Luxembourg in the reverse match in this section back in June.

Konrad Funfstuck has now lost all seven of his matches since being appointed head coach in May, but there have been some improvement in the performances, and there are small positives that the 43-year-old will be able to take from another hugely difficult qualification campaign for a major tournament.

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Luxembourg, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 4-1 success over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday evening, which moved them onto 14 points in the section.

The Red Lions have won four, drawn two and lost three of their nine Group J fixtures to collect 14 points, which has left them third in the section, five points off second-placed Slovakia.

Luxembourg have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament, but this is their best-ever qualification campaign, and the national side will be in the UEFA Nations League C playoffs, which could lead to them advancing to next summer's tournament.

Luc Holtz's side have conceded 19 times in this section, which will be a concern ahead of the playoffs, although nine of those came in a stunning 9-0 loss to Portugal in September.

Luxembourg had actually been a three-game winless run in the section ahead of their clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday, but they were impressive in the comfortable home success.

Team News

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Liechtenstein head coach can take plenty of positives from what was a strong performance against Portugal on Thursday, and it would not be a surprise to see the bulk of the players keep their spots for this match.

Simon Luchinger was replaced at the interval of the Portugal clash with an unspecified problem, though, which could lead to Livio Meier being introduced in the middle of midfield.

Dennis Salanovic is the leading goalscorer in the squad with four, and the 27-year-old is again expected to be joined in the final third of the field by Julien Hasler.

As for Luxembourg, Gerson Rodrigues netted a brace in the home success over Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Sivasspor forward is expected to again get the nod through the middle.

Sebastien Thill is an option to come into a wide area, but wholesale changes are unlikely, with Christopher Martins set to be included in midfield once again.

Danel Sinani, who has 12 international goals to his name, is likely to continue in the XI, but there could be a notable change at the back, with Seid Korac potentially coming in to earn just his fourth cap.

Liechtenstein possible starting lineup:
Buchel; Malin, Wieser, Traber; Beck, Meier, Buchel, Sele, Goppel; Hasler, Salanovic

Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Moris; M Martins, Korac, Chanot, Carlson; Sinani, Olesen, C Martins, Barreiro, S Thill; Rodrigues

We say: Liechtenstein 0-2 Luxembourg

Liechtenstein will have been boosted by their performance against Portugal last time out, but it is very difficult to back them to pick up points in any given match. Luxembourg's qualification campaign has been excellent, and we are expecting them to secure another three points on Sunday night.

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