Slovenia midfielder Josip Ilicic (L) competes for the ball against England's Raheem Sterling. (Photo : Getty Images)
Lowly-ranked Malta (0-3-0, 3 points) will look to earn their first points in the UEFA 2018 World Cup qualifying tournament as the team faces FIFA 52nd-ranked Slovenia (1-0-2, 5 points) on Nov. 11, Friday at the National Stadium in Ta' Qali.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:45 p.m. UTC+1. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Malta has lost all of its games so far in the tourney and they are again the underdogs in this match against Slovenia. The team is currently in the cellar of the Group F standings with zero points. Slovakia is three points ahead of them in fifth place.
Head coach Pietro Ghedin's side is not expected to advance to the World Cup but the team is keen on making their qualifying stint a respectable one by at least earning a point if possible.
The team lost to Scotland, 1-5, during their tournament-opener at home before succumbing to England, 0-2, at the Wembley Stadium in their second match.
In their most recent fixture, Malta dropped another 0-2 game, this time to Lithuania also on the road at the LFF Stadium in Vilnius on Oct. 11, as per Sofa Score.
After a goalless first half of action, the hosts suddenly caught fire late in the second half with one goal each from Fiodor Cernych and Arvydas Novikovas in the 76th and 84th minutes to hand the visitors their third consecutive defeat.
Meanwhile, Slovenia settled to a 0-0 tie with England in their own Oct. 11 match held at their home field of Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana, The Guardian reported.
It was the second drawn match for head coach Srečko Katanec's team, who was able to keep themselves unbeaten in the tournament and tied on points with Lithuania in the group standings.
However, Lithuania has a higher goal difference than Slovenia so the latter are now at third place in the group table.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 2-0 victory for Slovenia.
Malta starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Hogg; Borg, Failla, Agius, Muscat, Zerafa; Kristensen, Sciberras, Schembri, Effiong; Mifsud
Slovenia starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Oblak; Skubic, Samardzic, Cesar, Jovic; Krhin; Verbic, Birsa, Kurtic, Novakovic; Ilicic
