Preview: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Slovakia - prediction, team news, lineups

Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovakia will round off their respective Euro 2024 qualification campaigns with a contest at Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica on Sunday night.

Slovakia booked their spot in the finals of the European Championship courtesy of a 4-2 win over Iceland on Thursday, while Bosnia-Herzegovina are down in fifth position in the section, but they can still qualify for the tournament through the UEFA Nations League B path.

Match preview

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Bosnia-Herzegovina have struggled for consistency in this section, winning three and losing six of their nine matches to collect nine points, which is only enough for fifth position.

The Dragons can still finish fourth above Iceland in Group J, but they have already been confirmed in the playoffs for Euro 2024 via the UEFA Nations League B path.

Savo Milosevic's side will enter this match off the back of a 4-1 defeat to Luxembourg on Thursday, while they conceded five unanswered goals in their last home game with Portugal on October 16.

Bosnia-Herzegovina have only managed to win one of their last four in the group, which came away to Liechtenstein last month, and they have scored just eight times in their nine matches, which is a strong indication of the route of their current problems.

The national side have never qualified for the finals of a European Championship, but they did compete in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, being eliminated in the group stage of the competition.

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Slovakia, meanwhile, booked their spot at Euro 2024 courtesy of a 4-2 success over Iceland on Thursday, which proved to be their third win in their last four games in the section.

Francesco Calzona's side are second in Group J on 19 points, boasting a record of six wins, one draw and two defeats in the section, and they will either be in Pot 3 or Pot 4 for the finals.

Slovakia have now qualified for three European Championship tournaments in a row, making the round of 16 at Euro 2016 before being knocked out in the group stage of Euro 2020.

The Falcons were not present at the World Cup in Qatar, though, with their only qualification for the finals of that tournament coming back in 2010, when they managed to reach the round of 16.

Slovakia will be keen to end their Group J campaign on a positive note, and they have only lost one of their last five international games on their travels, which was a 3-2 reverse to Portugal on October 13.

Team News

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Bosnia-Herzegovina head coach Milosevic is expected to make changes to his side following the heavy defeat to Luxembourg on Thursday night.

The bulk of the alterations are likely to come in the forward areas, with Smail Prevljak, who has netted six times for the national side, set to be one of those introduced.

Ermedin Demirovic could also be brought into the XI on Sunday evening, while Haris Hajradinovic is also pushing to be involved in a midfield area from the first whistle.

As for Slovakia, head coach Calzona is also expected to shuffle his pack for this match, with the team's qualification for Euro 2024 already secured.

Robert Mak, Robert Polievka and Tomas Suslov could all potentially be introduced in the final third of the field, as Calzona prepares to hand squad players opportunities to impress.

There could also be a first Slovakia appearance for 20-year-old midfielder Dominik Holly, while Matus Kmet and Jakub Kadak will also be bidding to make their debuts for the national side.

Bosnia-Herzegovina possible starting lineup:
Vasilj; Dedic, Gojkovic, Kovacevic, Majakic; Hajradinovic, Cimirot; Demirovic, Krunic, Hamulic; Prevljak

Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Gyomber, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Benes, Holly; Mak, Polievka, Suslov

We say: Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-1 Slovakia

Bosnia-Herzegovina have not drawn a single match in this group, while Slovakia have shared the points on just one occasion, so the statistics point to a home or an away win here. The hosts are capable of securing all three points, but we just fancy Slovakia to edge a close contest this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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