Kosovo vs Turkey Prediction: Crescent-Stars look too strong for hosts

Kosovo's World Cup play-off final against Turkey marks an historic moment as the home nation are just one game away from reaching their first-ever finals.

The Dardanians finished second behind Switzerland in the group phase of qualifying before beating Slovakia 4-3 in the semi-finals. However, Turkey will pose a huge challenge and are favourites to win and secure a spot at this summer's World Cup in North America.

Team News

Kosovo are likely to name the same team that earned a thrilling victory in Slovakia this week.

Captain Vedat Muriqi should lead the line having previously played for Fenerbahce in Turkey, while former Manchester City and Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric will start between the sticks.

Turkey, meanwhile, are sweating on the fitness of Hakan Calhanoglu after the influential midfielder suffered a calf issue in last week's 1-0 play-off semi-final victory over Romania.

Crescent-Stars defender Merih Demiral has picked up a muscle problem and is unavailable.

Football Odds

Kosovo vs Turkey Odds

Kosovo are priced at 13/8 to win the tie on Tuesday while Turkey are 4/9 to progress. Backing the draw in 90 minutes is 13/5.

Both teams to score is 4/5 while Kosovo talisman Vedat Muriqi is 2/1to net anytime. Turkey playmaker Arda Guler is 6/1 to open the scoring.

Today's Football Fixtures

Turkey to win @ 9/10

Kosovo have proved they are capable of holding their own in Europe after a hugely impressive qualifying campaign for this summer’s tournament.

Finishing bottom of the group standings for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, the Dardanians came second this time around, only missing out on top spot to Switzerland.

Thursday's 4-3 victory over Slovakia, in which they came from behind twice, showed Kosovo's character but Tuesday's match with Turkey will be a much tougher test.

Despite home advantage, the Kosovans are underdogs with the Crescent-Stars being backed to progress and book their place at the World Cup.

Betting on Turkey to win in normal time looks like a smart move due to the experience and quality Vincenzo Montella's squad possesses.

In Arda Guler Turkey boast one of the top young talents in Europe, while Calhanoglu being passed fit would be a massive boost. Overall, the visitors should have too much for Kosovo and therefore progress unscathed.

Under 3.5 goals @ 1/3

Kosovo may have been involved in a seven-goal thriller against Slovakia, but the Dardanians' matches are usually much lower-scoring affairs.

Napoli centre-back Amir Rrahmani and the rest of the Kosovo backline kept four consecutive clean sheets in qualifying, while five of their last six games have featured no more than two goals.

While Kosovo will look to be at their solid best, Turkey have scored 18 goals in their last seven matches, so backing the game to feature under 3.5 goals may be the sensible move.

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