France vs Azerbaijan Prediction: Don’t expect a cricket score

France have enjoyed a perfect start to their Uefa World Cup qualifying campaign, picking up all six points available. They are in action at Parc des Princes on Friday (19:45 BST, Prime Video) as they host Azerbaijan.

The visitors have picked up one point so far and they are not expected to have much joy in Paris against Didier Deschamps' side. Read on for my France vs Azerbaijan predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

France will be without the services of midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, following the Real Madrid star's red card against Iceland last time out, and he is going to have to miss this clash through suspension.

Bradley Barcola, Marcus Thuram and Ousmane Dembele are all missing due to various injury troubles, so Deschamps will be forced to make tweaks to the side that played against Iceland last month.

Adrien Rabiot may be deployed in midfield, while Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise could be joined in the final third of the field by Kingsley Coman and Hugo Ekitike, with the latter having had a good start to life with Liverpool this season.

Football Odds

Renat Dadashov and Mahir Emreli, who have netted 10 times between them for Azerbaijan, are set to feature in attack on Friday.

The leading goalscorer in the squad is Emin Mahmudov with 14, and he is in line to win his 55th cap, while Anatolii Nuriiev may also start this contest.

Azerbaijan are expected to line up with a five-man defence against France, with Rahman Dashdamirov potentially playing down the right side.

Today's Football Fixtures

France vs Azerbaijan Odds

France are the overwhelming favourites to win this match at 1/100, and they have won both previous meetings with Friday's opponents. The last meeting, which came in 1995, ended 10-0 and Les Bleus are 6/5 (implied probability of 45.5%) to win with a -4 handicap.

The draw is 22/1, while Azerbaijan are 50/1 to come away with the three points.

France striker Mbappe leads the anytime goalscorer market at 2/9, having struck in his last four appearances for his country.

Under 4.5 goals @ 11/10

Many may be expecting France to win this match comfortably and to score a lot of goals in the process, but the truth is that Les Bleus are not in a habit of being involved in a lot of high-scoring affairs on home soil.

In each of their last five home fixtures since September 2024, under 4.5 goals has been a successful selection, and I think this trend will continue on Friday against Azerbaijan.

Including home and away matches, this has been a successful bet in 10 of Les Bleus' past 12 outings in all competitions. This has been a winning selection in their last three games heading into Friday's clash.

France are heavy favourites for good reason because of their squad depth and their performances on the international stage in recent years. I am expecting this to be a routine victory for them but they may not exert themselves in pursuit of a healthy addition to their goal tally if they feel the game has been won should they go ahead by two or three.

Under 4.5 has also struck in five of Azerbaijan's previous six matches, and I think 11/10 is a good price for it to strike in Paris.

Kylian Mbappe first goalscorer @ 15/8

Mbappe has been a consistent scorer for his country of late but his odds of striking anytime against Azerbaijan are not as enticing as you would like. Therefore, I'm going for the Real Madrid star to open the scoring on Friday, which he did against Germany in June for the Uefa Nations League third-place play-off.

The forward has enjoyed a scintillating start to the season with Los Blancos, bagging 14 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions, so he should be brimming with confidence linking up with his international teammates.

Azerbaijan will be well aware of the threat Mbappe poses, but trying to nullify him is another issue completely. I am confident that he finds the net in this game, and I think it is worth backing him to be the first man on the scoresheet.

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