Liechtenstein vs Gibraltar Prediction: Hasler to haunt Los Llanis
There are just three teams in Group D1 of the Uefa Nations League, meaning Liechtenstein were forced to play a friendly against Hong Kong on Thursday - which they won 1-0 - while Gibraltar beat San Marino by the same scoreline to move from bottom to top.
Liechtenstein and Gibraltar met last month as the former twice came from behind at the Europa Point Stadium to salvage a 2-2 draw, and the return fixture takes place at Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz on Sunday (17:00). Read below for my Liechtenstein vs Gibraltar prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.
Liechtenstein vs Gibraltar Betting Tips
Team News
Nicolas Hasler scored the only goal of the game for Liechtenstein on Thursday night as Hong Kong were beaten at Rheinpark Stadion; the 33-year-old was also on target in Gibraltar last month and will expect to play a pivotal part in Sunday's proceedings.
Ferhat Saglam was Liechtenstein's first goalscorer in that draw with Gibraltar and he too will expect to make back-to-back starts this week.
Joseph Chipolina was sent off for Gibraltar in the dying embers of September's stalemate and misses out this time as he was not named in the squad, despite serving his suspension against San Marino.
Ethan Britto was the hero for Los Llanis on Thursday as he popped up in the 62nd minute to secure all three points for the hosts. The 23-year-old is set to start again on Sunday, as are Manchester United teenager James Scanlon and Tjay De Barr - the latter set up Britto's winner earlier this week.
Liechtenstein vs Gibraltar Odds
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Liechtenstein are 8/5, or a 38.5% chance, to pick up all three points on Sunday, while Gibraltar are 13/8 (38.1%) to do the same. The draw, meanwhile, is priced at 21/10.
Both teams to score is available at 11/10 and over 2.5 total goals at 6/4.
Liechtenstein forward Dennis Salanovic, who plays his football over in Canada with York United, is favourite to score anytime at 12/5, followed by Gibraltar forward De Barr.
Both Teams to Score - Yes @ 11/10
These two sides aren't prolific scorers usually - Liechtenstein have blanked in seven of their last eight competitive games, while Gibraltar have only scored in two of their last 12 Nations League/European Championship qualifiers - but there were four goals shared between them last month as they kicked off Group D1 with a 2-2 draw.
Liam Walker opened the scoring inside the first eight minutes for Gibraltar before Saglam struck a 53rd-minute equaliser for the visitors. The contest really came alive towards the end as Walker missed an 82nd-minute penalty before Liechtenstein's Aron Sele saw a goal disallowed for offside in the second minute of added time. Still, there was time for both teams to score again as Scanlon's 90+7 effort was cancelled out by Hasler's 90+14 spot-kick.
Who's up for another thriller on Sunday?
Perhaps it's asking too much to expect the same kind of entertainment, but Liechtenstein and Gibraltar know that they can hurt the other, and that should give confidence to both sides that they don't need to just bunker in and settle for a point.
Gibraltar have now scored in their last three games, beating Andorra - in a friendly - and San Marino 1-0 either side of the draw with Liechtenstein, while Sunday's hosts made it strikes in back-to-back matches with Thursday's victory over Hong Kong.
At over EVS, I'm taking BTTS - Yes all day long.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Anytime Goalscorer - Nicolas Hasler (LIE) @ 18/5
The highest-scoring league season of Hasler's career came in 2013/14 when he struck five times in the Swiss Challenge League - the Swiss second tier - which probably goes some way to explaining his odds of 18/5 to score on Sunday. He also played just once in 2023/24, making his return from injury on the final day of the campaign.
Hasler appears to be a man on a mission this term, though, having scored once for Vaduz in the Swiss Challenge League and twice for his country - all three goals coming in his last six games.
The Liechtenstein captain is regarded as one of his nation's greatest-ever players and is behind only retired duo Mario Frick (16 goals) and Franz Burgmeier (nine) in the all-time scorer charts. At 33, time is running out for Hasler to close the gap to Frick, but he will certainly believe he can overtake Burgmeier in second, and a goal on Sunday would help him get to within one of the former Darlington man.
A strike against Gibraltar would make it three international games in a row with a goal for Hasler, who showed ice-cool composure to equalise from 12 yards at the Europa Points Stadium last month. Being designated penalty-taker certainly does no harm to his chances of finding the back of the net this weekend, and at 18/5, I think he is worth a punt in the anytime goalscorer market.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
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