Game Preview: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Slovakia - World Cup Qualifying - September 6th, 2013

Bosnia-Herzegovina host Slovakia in the seventh round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Group G. The match will take place on Friday, September 6th, 2013 at Bilino Polje in Zenica.

Bosnia-Herzegovina have won five and drew one of their qualifying matches so far. With four games to go, they are at the top of Group G with 16 points, followed by Greece who have 13 and Slovakia who have 9. Other members of the group, Lithuania (5), Latvia (4) and Liechtenstein (2) are already out of contention to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.

Slovakia have been on and off in the qualifying campaign so far. They have had two victories, three draws and one loss. They would need to win their next four games in order to have a chance of qualifying for Brazil.

Let's take a look at the odds for the upcoming match in Zenica:

Bosnia-Herzegovina: 8/15
Draw: 3/1
Slovakia: 5/1

The hosts are the favourites to win on Friday. A 100 € bet on Bosnia-Herzegovina could yield 53 € in profit, while the same bet on Slovakia could yield 500 € in profit. The most likely scoreline, according to the odds, is a 1-0 victory for the hosts, offered at 11/2 (bet 100 € for a chance to profit 550 €).

Bosnia-Herzegovina have pleasantly surprised in the qualifications so far. In six games, they have scored 23 goals and conceded only 3. They have already played twice against their toughest opponent in the group, Greece, and managed a draw in Piraeus (0-0) and a victory in Zenica (3-1). Bosnia-Herzegovina have a good chance to directly qualify to Brazil, but they will have to show their worth against Slovakia first.

Players that stand out for Bosnia-Herzegovina are Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Asmir Begovic (Stoke City) and Miralem Pjanic (A.S. Roma), while the most popular players on the Slovakian team are Marek Hamsik (S.S.C. Napoli) and Vladimir Weiss (Olympiacos).

The two teams will meet on Friday, and then again on Tuesday, September 10th, in Zilina.

It will be interesting to see how things unfold in Group G.