Wales vs Latvia predictions: Dragons to continue unbeaten start to qualifying

Liam Flin
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Rob Page will be hoping Wales can pick up a home win on Tuesday evening
Rob Page will be hoping Wales can pick up a home win on Tuesday evening

- Latvia have failed to win any of their last five matches in 90 minutes
- Wales have qualified for each of the last two European Championships
- Recommended bet: Wales to win & under 3.5 goals

Wales started their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Croatia in Split last time out and will be hoping to build on that with a win over Latvia at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday.

Team news

Wales are without the experienced Ben Davies in defence
Wales are without the experienced Ben Davies in defence

Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and defender Ben Davies previously had to withdraw from the Wales squad, while key striker Brennan Johnson is unavailable due to a groin injury.

Latvia have no new injuries to deal with but forward Raimonds Krollis could be in line to start after featuring from off the bench last time out.

The stats

Latvia have failed to win any of their previous five games in 90 minutes with that streak having featured games against Moldova, Andorra, Estonia and Iceland.

Wales lost only one of their eight matches during qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while each of their last six matches have featured under 3.5 goals.

Latvia have scored more than one goal only once in their last five matches.

Prediction

Wales failed to make much of an impression at the World Cup, crashing out in the group stage after collecting only one point from three matches, but they made a promising start to qualifying for Euro 2024.

The Dragons began qualifying in Group D with a 1-1 draw away to Croatia, having lost the shot count 19-4 in the game but salvaging a point thanks to a last-gasp strike from Nathan Broadhead.

The importance of that point to Wales cannot be overstated, given the fact they must also face a strong Turkey team in their section and only the top two qualify for the finals.

But it will also mean nothing if they can not win Tuesday's game against Latvia - a side they are expected to overcome comfortably.

Latvia sustained a 3-2 friendly defeat to Ireland last time out but they were thoroughly outplayed in that game and are down in 133rd spot in FIFA's national team rankings, below the likes of Malawi and Faroe Islands.

That game against Ireland was Latvia's first international of 2023 and they head into Tuesday's encounter having failed to win any of their last five matches in 90 minutes.

Although as part of that run they managed to win the Baltic Cup, that competition featured only two matches and Latvia won both of them on penalties.

Their recent opponents have included Andorra, Moldova and Estonia and, given they failed to beat any of those sides in normal time, they are worth opposing against the Welsh.

Wales are a much stronger outfit but are going through a transition as they adjust to life without Gareth Bale and key forward Johnson is not available, so do not expect them to rack up the goals in Cardiff.

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Tags

WalesEuropean ChampionshipLatvia