We have an interesting game in Group E of Euro 2024 qualifying as Albania host the Czech Republic.
Albania currently sit top of Group E with three wins, one draw and one loss from their first five games of the campaign.
They began proceedings with a 1-0 loss away in Poland before going unbeaten in all of their last four games having beaten Moldova, 2-0, Faroe Islands, 3-1, and Poland, 2-0, amidst a 1-1 draw with this week's opponents.
It's been a surpassingly strong campaign for an Albanian side from whom not ,such was expected given the poor qualification campaigns they've delivered on the last few occasions.
They've been extremely strong on home soil having won all of their last three home games by a 2-0 scoreline so they'll fancy themselves to win what will be a hugely impactful game regarding eventual qualification from this group.
After a fairly barren period Albania now have a good crop of young talent coming through so qualification for this tournament will feel timely. The mood around the national team is as good as it's been for years and win here would be a giant stride towards Germany.
The Czech Republic currently sit 2nd in Group D of qualifying with two wins and two draws fro their first four hames of the campaign.
The Eastern Europeans kicked off with a 3-1 win over Poland before drawing 0-0 away in Moldova followed by a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands and a 1-1 draw with Albania.
It's been a solid start to qualifying for the Czechs but they'll no doubt feel they've missed a couple of huge opportunities with the 0-0 draw in Moldova and the failure to beat Albania on home soil meaning they've failed to capitalise on huge opportunities that were made bigger by Poland's underwhelming start to the qualification process.
They can still qualify, of course, but the Czech Republic now must win this game, or at least avoid defeat, to put themselves back in the driver's seat.
They are, thankfully, on a good run having gone unbeaten in their last six games and having also gone unbeaten in their last four away from home they'll be confident of a result here.
The main concern is Albania's strength at home as they're a formidable force in front of their own fans. Expect this to be a closely contested encounter but one that the home side might just edge, likely by no more than a goal.
For our Albania vs. Czech Republic prediction, we're going for a 2-1 win for the home side.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.