Hungary and Armenia are bound to meet in the next round of the World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday, 11 October.
Will we see an expected win for the hosts or will Armenia put up a fight? Read our Hungary vs Armenia prediction to find that out, but remember to also check out some of our other World Cup Qualifiers predictions.
Contents
Hungary vs Armenia prediction: Goals on both sides expected
Key Stats
- Armenia have scored at least one goal in four of their last five matches.
- Hungary are winless after the first two rounds of the WC Qualifiers, while Armenia beat Ireland in the last round.
- Two of Hungary's last four matches were tied at half-time.
Correct score prediction: Hungary 2-1 Armenia
While Hungary are clear favourites in this game, they haven't been in their best form lately and they will also miss two crucial players on the offensive end.
On the other hand, Armenia enter this game after a win over Ireland in the last round, so they'll be high on confidence, but despite this, we can see the hosts edging them out in a close game.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Bookies backing up Hungary
- HOME: 7/20 (1.35) – 74.10%
- DRAW: 17/4 (5.25) – 19.00%
- AWAY: 7/1 (8.00) – 12.50%
*Odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
We can see from the Hungary vs Armenia odds that the hosts are the expected winners by a wide margin, which is understandable since they are the better team on paper.
In any case, if you liked our predictions for this game, remember to also check our betting tips for today.
Most recent H2Hs: One meeting so far
These two teams have only met once before, which was in 2004 in a friendly match. Hungary won that game 2-0.
Hungary preview: No room for error
After winning just one point from their first two games in these WC Qualifiers, Hungary desperately need a win against Armenia to keep their hopes of making it to the World Cup alive. The Hungarian team scored four goals in the first two matches against Ireland and Portugal, but that was only enough for a draw in Ireland. So, their defence will have to be at their best against Armenia if they are to record an important win.
That being said, Hungary will also have to deal with missing Roland Sallai and Barnabas Varga, who are responsible for all four goals that Hungary scored so far (Varga three, Sallai one). Both players will have to serve a ban in this match, though they will be ready for the second match of this international window when Hungary will go to Portugal.
Predicted lineup: Dibusz (GK), Nego, Orban, Szalai, Kerkez, A. Toth, Schafer, Styles, Bolla, Szoboszlai & Z. Nagy
Last five matches
- Hungary 2-3 Portugal (WC Qualifiers)
- Ireland 2-2 Hungary (WC Qualifiers)
- Azerbaijan 1-2 Hungary (International Friendly)
- Hungary 0-2 Sweden (International Friendly)
- Hungary 0-3 Turkey (UEFA Nations League)
Armenia preview: Hoping to resist the favoured opponent
After the expected loss to Portugal at the start of the World Cup Qualifiers, Armenia caused a bit of an upset in their second match when they beat Ireland at home. So, Armenia are sitting in the second place in the group right now, which would take them to the playoffs. Of course, it's still early and the next couple of games will show whether Armenia have enough quality to actually compete for the playoffs.
When it comes to team news, Edgar Sevikyan is out due to injury.
Predicted lineup: Cancarevic (GK), Hovhannisyan, Mkrtchyan, Piloyan, Muradyan, Tiknizyan, Spertsyan, Iwu, Zelarayan, Ranos & Barseghyan
Last five matches
- Armenia 2-1 Ireland (WC Qualifiers)
- Armenia 0-5 Portugal (WC Qualifiers)
- Montenegro 2-2 Armenia (International Friendly)
- Kosovo 5-2 Armenia (International Friendly)
- Georgia 6-1 Armenia (UEFA Nations League)
Player to watch: Dominik Szoboszlai
With Hungary's two most important offensive weapons slated to miss this match, Szoboszlai will likely have to take on a more offensive role and carry a bigger load on that end of the pitch.
Liverpool's midfielder is certainly one of the best players in this Hungarian team and one of their leaders, so we can see him stepping up in this situation to push Hungary towards an important win.