A victory for either Denmark or Slovenia on Friday confirms their qualification for the European Championship, but when the two nations played in June, the tie ended 1-1.
Denmark
After a disappointing 2022 World Cup, Denmark seem to have learnt from their mistakes and bounced back during this qualifying campaign. Kasper Hjulmand's team have accumulated 19 points from eight matches, but they sit in second place on goal difference. Denmark have been lethal in attack, scoring 17 goals, with seven of those coming via Manchester United's, Rasmus Hojlund. They have on-the-ball quality all over the field that allows them to control matches and that is particularly evident at home, as they have won all four of their matches.
Denmark are also usually solid in defence, conceding less than a goal per game on average. However their recent match versus San Marino saw them concede to the lowest ranked team in the FIFA rankings. Hjulmand's side won the tie 2-1, but dangerous challenges from the underdogs and poor refereeing meant that the match became tense.
Slovenia
The Dragons have been very impressive so far in Group H and they currently lead the way on 19 points, ahead of Denmark due to conceding one goal less. This means that Slovenia have won six matches and only lost once, which came on their away trip to Finland. Impressively, Matjaz Kek's team have had nine different scorers so far, which highlights that they can be a threat all over the field. However, the main source of goals has come from Benjamin Sesko (4), who is an incredibly talented, dynamic center forward.
Last time out, Slovenia picked up a 1-0 win on the road versus Northern Ireland. The Dragons opened the scoring in the first half and they were helped by a red card for Shea Charles just before the hour mark. The tie had little quality and that sending off wrapped up the game.
Verdict?
Both nations will want to secure qualification on Friday which may lead to an exciting encounter. Denmark have plenty of quality in their squad, which will give them the advantage over Slovenia. A home win is priced at 8/15 and a Slovenia win is 19/4. Denmark to win and both teams to score provides nice value at 3/1.
The final prediction is Denmark 2-1 Slovenia.
