Turkey - Latvia predictions and free betting tips [15/10/2023]

On Sunday, 15 October, as a part of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, the Turkish national team will face off against the Latvian national team. After Thursday's victory over the "Checkers", Vincenzo Montella's team needs to collect only one point to secure a place in the upcoming continental championship, while the Latvians are rooted at the bottom of the standings.

Predicted Line-ups

Turkey: Cakir; Kadioglu, Akaydin, Demiral, Ozkacar; Yuksek; Kahveci, Kokcu, Calhanoglu, Akturkoglu; Yilmaz.
Latvia: Ozols; Savalnieks, Balodis, Dubra, Sorokins; Emsis, Tobers; Jaunzems, J. Ikaunieks, D. Ikaunieks; Uldrikis.

Stadium

The match will be held in Adana at the Yeni Adana Stadium.

Turkey

Turkey, at all costs, needs to qualify for the upcoming Euro after this team missed the latest World Cup (they were eliminated in the playoffs against Portugal). In the race for first place, the Turks won on Thursday evening away again Croatia (0-1), solely taking the lead of the group. Barış Alper Yılmaz took advantage of a mistake by opposing goalie Dominik Livakovic and scored the only goal in the first half. As a result of this, the hosts took the top spot in Group D, amassing 13 points, and now lead over the "Checkers" by three points, who still has a game in hand.

However, it should be noted that in September, the red and whites didn't win any matches, drawing with Armenia (1:1), and then losing to Japan in a friendly (4:2) - subsequently, Vincenzo Montella took over the managerial duties from Stefan Kuntz. The central defender of Atletico Madrid, Söyüncü (54 matches), is injured in La Liga and is absent for this selection. 

Latvia

Latvia is already out of the running for making it to the top two after a September loss to Wales (0-2). In any case, the Latvians did not expect to qualify for the Euro and until last Thursday, they had not won a single match during the current qualifiers, suffering five losses. However, on Thursday, the Baltic team delighted fans with long-awaited success, achieving an unexpected victory against Armenia by a score of 2:0.

Despite Marcis Oss being sent off soon after the break, goals from Janis Ikaunieks and Daniils Balodis were enough for the Latvians to bag three points. After a visit to Konya this week, the visitors, who have only once participated in the Euro nearly 20 years ago, will conclude their qualifying campaign next month at home against Croatia. Clearly, most of the players in the Latvian line-up are completely unknown to the general public. 

Head to Head

In June, Latvia succumbed to the Turks under rather dramatic circumstances: at the 94th minute, the team's captain Kristers Tobers levelled the score, but a minute later, İrfan Kahveci's accurate strike brought all three points to Turkey.

Turkey vs Latvia Match Predictions

After an excellent result in Croatia, expectations from the red and whites will be even higher, especially since a win for the "Crescent-Star" could secure a ticket to Germany for the Euro. The new manager, Vincenzo Montella, has already earned the players' trust, so defeating struggling Latvia shouldn't be difficult. The guests have suffered 4 consecutive away losses and have a much lesser squad, so my prediction is a victory for the favourite with a handicap of -1.5.

Total Predictions

The Latvians have let in 13 goals in six rounds, while the hosts have only scored 9 – not that much, considering the presence of Çalhanoğlu, Aktürkoğlu and Kekçu in the line-up. I'm betting on a home team individual total of over 2.5.

Corner Predictions

Turkey will be in control for all 90 minutes of the match and is expected to win on all key indicators, including corners – handicap -2.5.

Yellow Card Predictions

The Latvian team has a significant disadvantage in terms of class, which means that the skill difference will be compensated with an abundance of fouls. The guests will win on yellow cards.

Score Predictions

I'm betting on an exact score of 3:0 in favour of the Turkish national team.