France vs Azerbaijan Tips & Preview - The French to show dominance over struggling visitors

By Tolu Shotade

4 hours ago

Tolu Shotade 4 hours ago

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France aims to extend their perfect start in Group D.
Azerbaijan struggling, winless in 12 matches.
Past meetings favor France, with dominant wins.

France vs Azerbaijan

France are aiming to maintain their perfect start to the UEFA World Cup qualifiers when they host Azerbaijan in a Group D clash on Friday.

The French have been in good form lately and will be feeling confident heading into this clash. They should have too much quality for the visitors, who often find things difficult at this level.

France News

It has been a perfect start to the qualifiers for France, who have won their opening two matches. They began with a 2-0 away victory over Ukraine before claiming a 2-1 home win over Iceland in their previous fixture.

France will be keen to put on a show in front of their fans and are unbeaten in their last four home matches across all competitions. Didier Deschamps’ team have picked up three wins on this run, while they can also count a 14-0 victory over Gibraltar among their results in recent times.

The French are expected to be dominant on Friday, but are unlikely to hit the heights of the victory over Gibraltar. Nine of their last 10 matches across all competitions have produced under 5.5 goals.

Azerbaijan News

Azerbaijan are usually minnows in qualifying campaigns and are struggling once again this year. Aykhan Abasov’s team are winless in their opening two fixtures and are currently bottom of Group D.

Having begun with a 5-0 away defeat to Iceland, Azerbaijan held out for a 1-1 home draw with Ukraine in their previous fixture. Both results extend their winless run to 12 matches across all competitions, while they have also lost six of their last seven away matches.

Azerbaijan are such poor travellers that some of their heaviest defeats have come away from home. Beyond the loss to Iceland, they also fell 6-0 to Sweden in a UEFA Nations League fixture, going three goals down in the first half.

Head to Head

There have been only two previous matches between both teams, with France doing the double during the Euro 96 qualifiers. The French earned a 2-0 away win before easing to a 10-0 home victory in the second leg.

Verdict

France v Azerbaijan

It is likely to be a one-sided encounter on Friday, with France expected to be too strong for the visitors. Given Azerbaijan’s heavy away defeats and having gone three goals down at the break in the loss to Sweden, the French will be targeting a similar pattern in this one.

While a dominant display is expected here, nine of their last 10 matches have produced under 5.5 goals. Friday's clash is likely to serve up a similar outcome.

Under 5.5

Total Goals

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France -3.5

Handicap

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France -1

First Half Handicap

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