Hungary vs Armenia Prediction: Magyars to claim vital victory

Hungary are still searching for their first win of this Uefa World Cup qualification campaign, having followed up a 2-2 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin with a 3-2 defeat to Portugal in Budapest. On Saturday (19:45 BST), the Magyars play host to Armenia, who began Group F with a 5-0 defeat to Portugal in Yerevan before beating the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in the same location.

Below are my Hungary vs Armenia predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this weekend's game at the Puskas Arena, which will host the 2025/26 Uefa Champions League final next May.

Team News

Hungary's squad includes Liverpool pair Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez, and two other England-based players - Callum Styles (West Bromwich Albion) and Balazs Toth (Blackburn Rovers).

Daniel Gazdag (Columbus Crew) is among those to have been overlooked by Magyars head coach Marco Rossi.

First-choice goalkeeper Denes Dibusz (Ferencvaros) was called up for Hungary's games against Armenia and Portugal this month but has been forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury, with Patrik Demjen (MTK) called up as a replacement. Toth, who started his country's last match, a 3-2 defeat to Portugal in Budapest on September 9, should get the nod to start between the sticks again on Saturday.

Forwards Barnabas Varga (Ferencvaros) and Rolland Sallai (Galatasaray) are suspended against Armenia, but will be available to face Portugal in Lisbon next Tuesday.

World Cup Odds

Rotor Volgograd midfielder David Davidyan, who was last called up by Armenia in October 2024, is back involved in the national team set-up this month, while FC Alashkert left-back Arsen Sadoyan has received his first-ever call-up to the senior side.

Sadoyan's inclusion could be down to uncertainty over another left-back, Nayir Tiknizyan (Red Star Belgrade), who is expected to miss the Republic of Ireland match in Dublin next Tuesday due to visa issues.

Argentina-born attacker Lucas Zelarayan (Belgrano) has been included in Yegishe Melikyan's squad, but wasn't expected to link up with his teammates until Friday in Budapest.

Today's Football Fixtures

Hungary vs Armenia Odds

Despite failing to win any of their last six competitive contests, hosts Hungary are installed as 1/3 favourites to pick up all three points on Saturday, implying a 75% probability of success. Visitors Armenia, who lost the only previous head-to-head 2-0 in February 2004, are 9/1, or a 10% chance, to pull off a shock victory in Budapest, while the draw can be backed at 4/1.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Hungary & Yes @ 11/5

Backing both teams to score looks like the obvious play here, with the line landing in Hungary's last three games and four of Armenia's last five. The Magyars have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight matches, while Armenia head to Budapest without a shutout in their last 11.

Hungary will be desperate to clinch all three points on Saturday, given they are yet to win in Group F, and this is, on paper, their easiest assignment of the six.

Armenia, meanwhile, will be hopeful of achieving a positive result, as avoiding defeat would put them in a promising position at the halfway point.

So, I don't expect either side to show much fear going forward, with Hungary finding the net in their last three contests, and Armenia doing so in four of their last five.

The big question is - what will the result be?

Well, as much as Armenia will be in a positive frame of mind following their victory over the Irish last time out, it should be noted that the win ended a run of five games without one, and was just their second success from the last 11 games, the other a 2-1 Uefa Nations League triumph in Latvia last November.

Havakakan certainly aren't a side to be feared, as highlighted by their 9-1 Nations League play-off aggregate defeat to Georgia in March.

Armenia secured a famous 4-2 win over Wales in Cardiff in June 2023, but have won just once on their travels since (D3, L8).

Granted, Hungary's recent home record is less than admirable - they're winless in their last six Budapest encounters, drawing the first three and losing the last three - but in that run, they faced Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Bosnia-Herzegovina, all of whom would lay claim to being better sides than Armenia.

Portugal were the latest visitors to the Puskas Arena, and Roberto Martinez's men only escaped from the capital with a single-goal victory, requiring an 86th-minute winner from Joao Cancelo.

This is a game for Hungary's stars, such as Szoboszlai, to step up and prove their quality, and I believe they will do so - but they might be pushed to their boundaries by the Armenians, particularly with Sallai and Varga both suspended.

Player to Receive a Card - Milos Kerkez (HUN) @ 10/3

Kerkez has endured a difficult start to life at Liverpool, with the low point his 38th-minute withdrawal in the 1-0 victory over Burnley on September 14. The 21-year-old committed two fouls at Turf Moor and was issued his second booking of the season before being hooked for Andy Robertson to avoid receiving a red card.

The former AFC Bournemouth full-back is already on half the number of yellows he was issued in the Premier League last season for the Cherries (four), and looks like a good bet to go into the book for his country on Saturday, for the first time since pre-Euro 2024, when he was cautioned twice and shown one red in seven qualifiers.

Kerkez's likely direct opponent in Budapest this weekend is Tigran Barseghyan, who was fouled, on average, three times per game in last season's Slovak First Football League for Slovan Bratislava (30 appearances, 29 starts).

The 32-year-old was also fouled, on average, 2.1 times in eight Uefa Champions League league phase appearances (seven starts), drawing yellow-card challenges from Milan full-back Davide Calabria and Girona defender Alejandro Frances.

Barseghyan was fouled once in Armenia's first qualifier against Portugal last month, before being taken down twice by the Irish, and he is likely to be important for his country once again on Saturday.

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