Malta have only scored once in their six qualifiers
Malta have lost without scoring in all four qualifiers against teams that aren’t Lithuania
Finland have failed to score more than two goals in their last 19 games
Finland expected to dominate Malta
Finland’s hopes of securing a World Cup play-off spot are hanging by a thread and they need a win against Malta in their final game in Group G to keep them alive.
The Scandinavians are three points behind second-placed Poland, who have a game in hand, so need to beat Malta and hope the Poles drop points against both the Netherlands and Malta.
The Reds are rock bottom of the section with two points, having scored just once in six games.
Finland were 1-0 winners on the road when these two met in the reverse fixture and they are fancied to record another win to nil to keep their slim hopes of playing in next summer’s World Cup alive.
A 1-1 draw with Lithuania contained the only goal which Malta have managed to summon in their six qualifiers, they were beaten by an aggregate score of 12-0 across their two meetings with the Netherlands and a 3-1 friendly win over San Marino in September is much more their level.
Finland have not scored more than twice in any of their last 19 matches since a 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland in 2023 so side with the hosts to grind out a 2-0 win for correct score purposes.
