San Marino are on one of the longest winless runs out of a country officially ranked by FIFA having not tasted victory since 2004 when they overcame Liechtenstein, which is still their only ever win. So, Cyprus will be hoping to get the job done in a professional manner and not slip up midweek.
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San Marino vs Cyprus prediction: A potential banana skin
Key stats
- San Marino have only ever won one game
- Cyprus have conceded more than one goal in just one of their last four matches
- La Serenissima have failed to score in back-to-back games
Pre-game odds and win probability: Cyprus are obvious favourites
- Home: 14/1 (15.0) – 6.7%
- Draw: 11/2 (6.5) – 15.4%
- Away: 1/8 (1.13) – 88.9%
It's obvious that in pretty much every match San Marino play, the bookmakers will have their opponents down as huge favourites given their horrible record. However, this does mean backing an outright winner becomes slightly pointless given the tiny value in any possible win for the favourite.
So, we would – like usually against San Marino – back their opponents and in this case Cyprus, to win but starting with a -2 handicap. This does provide some element of risk given Cyprus aren't a huge football nation themselves, but we believe it's worth the punt.
If this is too much of a punt for you to take, then we have far more other options on our free betting tips page.
Last five H2Hs: History doesn't favour the hosts
San Marino have faced off against Cyprus on six occasions since their first meeting in 1998, but as expected, they have ended up on the losing side each time. To make matters worse, Cyprus have been able to keep a clean sheet in each encounter too.
San Marino preview: Yet another difficult task
It seems to be the same story but a different day for San Marino. They are the lowest-ranked side according to FIFA and thus, stand little chance of overcoming any opposition they face, but with their home fans behind them they'll always give their best.
Predicted lineup: Colombo (GK), Tosi, Rossi, Fabbri, Cevoli, D'Addario, Golinucci, Capicchioni, Contadini, Nanni, Berardi
International Match 10/09/24
L
Moldova
1
San Marino
0
UEFA Nations League D 05/09/24
W
Liechtenstein
0
San Marino
1
International Match 11/06/24
L
Cyprus
4
San Marino
1
International Match 05/06/24
L
Slovakia
4
San Marino
0
International Match 24/03/24
D
St. Kitts and Nevis
0
San Marino
0
Cyprus preview: Only a victory will be accepted
Despite leading until the final 20 minutes against Moldova, Cyprus disappointingly fell to a 3-2 defeat, something they will be hoping to put behind them and avoid an even more shocking result. If Cyprus fail to beat the worst team in international football, there will be widespread discontent back home.
Predicted lineup: Mall (GK), Gogic, Panagiotou, Andreou, Malekkidis, Spoljaric, Kastanos, Satsias, Gavriel, Pittas, Illia
UEFA Nations League C 09/09/24
L
Kosovo
4
Cyprus
0
UEFA Nations League C 06/09/24
W
Lithuania
0
Cyprus
1
International Match 11/06/24
W
San Marino
1
Cyprus
4
International Match 08/06/24
L
Moldova
3
Cyprus
2
International Match 25/03/24
L
Serbia
1
Cyprus
0
Player to watch: Ioannis Pittas
Ioannis Pittas is currently enjoying a standout campaign for well-known Swedish outfit, AIK, and he's seemingly carried that form over to the national team. Pittas has seven goals in 12 league games this season and added one to his national tally against Moldova.
His country's number nine
Pittas is enjoying a rich vein of form for both club and country having registered three goals and one assist in his last four appearances for Cyprus. So, he is now the undisputed number nine for his country and will be hoping to get on the scoresheet against a poor San Marino side.
