Belarus vs Northern Ireland Prediction: 4/1 for narrow away win

Belarus and Northern Ireland resume their Uefa Nations League campaigns on Saturday night behind closed doors (19:45) at the ZTE-Arena.

With Belarus joint-top and Northern Ireland just one point behind, this Group C3 game is hugely important, with both sides vying for a top-two finish. Read on for my Belarus vs Northern Ireland prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Dinamo Minsk goalkeeper Fyodor Lapoukhov should start between the sticks for the hosts, while Dmitri Antilevski and Yevgeni Shikavka are set to keep their places in the front line. However, Ivan Bakhar has been ruled out by injury, which means Trofim Melnichenko could come into the starting XI.

As for Northern Ireland, Michael O'Neill will be without injured goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell, while the backline has also taken a hit, as Dan Ballard is sidelined through injury, and Jonny Evans has recently retired from international football.

Lee Bonis could be given his first cap for his country on Saturday night, after netting a hat-trick for ADO Den Haag last week, having joined the Dutch side from Irish Premiership champions Larne over the summer.

Belarus vs Northern Ireland Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Belarus vs Northern Ireland page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Northern Ireland are favourites for this encounter at 9/10, having won their previous three outings against Belarus. The hosts can be backed at 7/2, giving them an implied win probability of 22.2%, and the draw is available at 21/10.

Dion Charles is the favourite to score anytime at 7/4, with Josh Magennis, who has 11 goals from 79 caps to date for Northern Ireland, following closely behind at 9/5.

Under 2.5 goals @ 1/2

The most recent outings for both sides featured under 2.5 goals, which is why I think it's sensible play here, despite it being a short price.

Both teams have scored in just two of Northern Ireland’s last 11 matches, and six of their last seven games have featured fewer than three goals. Belarus aren't goal machines either, having found the net just once in their last six matches.

The most recent encounter between the pair was during Euro 2020 qualifying, which saw Northern Ireland emerge as 1-0 winners, so I can't see this one being a goal-fest on Saturday.

Northern Ireland 1-0 @ 4/1

Which leads me nicely onto my next pick - another 1-0 win for O'Neill's side.

The visitors have struggled for goals of late, and six defeats in eight away games does little to boost Northern Ireland’s case, but they have shown enough in recent home outings against Andorra and Luxembourg to suggest they are capable of claiming the points here.

In addition, the memory of that brilliant 2-0 victory over Denmark in Euros qualifying remains firmly at the front of the mind, and the only occasion in their last seven games when they've conceded more than one goal was when they lost 5-1 to European champions Spain.

As I'm predicting a low-scoring game on Saturday, one goal may be enough to seal the three points for Northern Ireland, which is why a correct score of 1-0 appeals.

Offers

Friday/Saturday: Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Nations League game on Friday or Saturday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Sunday’s Nations League games.

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