Surprisingly enough, before this game, in Group F, Latvia is ahead of Greece, having 3 points after a loss to Croatia and a win against Malta. Greece has only two points, after the two draw games, against Georgia 1:1 and Croatia 0:0.
The Greeks need a win today, to move up the table, and keep their chances for getting out of the group. Both teams met already in the qualifying stage for FIFA World Cup 2010, where Greece won both game, 2:0 away and 5:2 at home.
Out of the last 6 international games, Latvia has this one and only win against Malta, while Greece won over Serbia in a friendly game and over Nigeria in the group stage of World Cup 2010.
Here are some more interesting facts about both teams:
* Greece’s record in four games against Latvia reads W2 D1 L1 (W1 D0 L1 at home).
* Fanis Gekas enjoyed those two games against Latvia a great deal, firing both goals in the first encounter and four more in Athens, where two Maris Verpakovskis strikes had put the visitors 2-1 up at the break.
*The teams first met in a UEFA EURO 2000 qualifier in Riga on 31 March 1999, playing out a goalless draw. Latvia improved on that result with a 2-1 victory in Athens on 9 June the same year, when Mihails Zemlinskis hit an added-time winner after Andreas Niniadis had cancelled out Verpakovskis’s first-half opener.
The Betting Verdict?
Greece to win @ 1.45 (Switch to Betfair.com – 25£ loss cover on your first bet): Greece needs this win more than anything, and this is a good opportunity. While Latvia can be a tough opponent especially if they are aiming for the draw, they have disappointed with their recent games, but the one against Malta. The team usually gets points against teams from the same rank like Lithuania, Estonia etc.
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