Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou (#9). (Photo : Getty Images)
Contending team Greece (1-0-0, 3 points) will look to remain undefeated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament as they face lowly Cyprus (0-1-0, 0 points) in the second round of Group H matches at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus on Oct. 7, Friday.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 9:45 p.m. UTC+3. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Greece opened their World Cup qualifying campaign with a bang, crushing Gibraltar, 4-1, on the road at the Estádio Algarve in Faro/Loulé, Portugal on Sep. 6, as per the Greek Reporter.
Benfica striker Kostas Mitroglou scored the first goal of the contest at the 10th minute with a medium range right-footed shot.
Gibraltar was able to level the count at the 26th minute with a goal from midfielder Liam Walker off an assist by teammate Scott Wiseman after a corner kick. However, an own goal from Gibraltar defender Scott Wiseman gave Greece back the lead at the 44th minute, 2-1.
From there, head coach Michael Skibbe's side netted two more goals before halftime, courtesy of midfielder Kostas Fortounis and team captain Vasilis Torosidis at the 45th minute and in the first half injury time respectively, to reach the break with a 4-1 lead.
The score remained to be the final count as both teams went goalless in the second half of play.
Meanwhile, Cyprus was thrashed by world no. 2 Belgium, 0-3, in their own tournament-opener held also on Sep. 6 at their home field of GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Yahoo Sports reported.
Head coach Christakis Christoforou's squad was no match for the Belgians' star-studded lineup composed of big-name club players such as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Carrasco, Thibaut Courtois, and many more.
Everton striker Lukaku netted a brace at the 13th and 61st minutes while Atletico Madrid's Carrasco sealed the win at the 81st with the assist coming from Chelsea talisman Hazard.
Greece is the favorite to win over Cyprus in this match.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-1 win for Greece.
Greece starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Karnezis; Torosidis, Papastathopoulos, Manolas, Tzavellas; Maniatis, Tziolis; Mantalos, Fortounis, Bakasetas; Mitroglou
Cyprus starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Panagi; Demetriou, Junior, Laifis, Alexandrou; Laban, Kyriakou; Charalambides, Kastanos, Efrem; Sotiriou
