by Moldova will welcome Malta at 15:00 CET today at Chisinau in Group C1 of the UEFA Women’s Nations League. The home side will be aiming to have a better showing in search of lifting themselves off the bottom of the group. However, Malta come into the match with the target of getting the three points to secure promotion.
Previous Fixture & Recent Form
The two sides met in the second match of the UEFA Women’s Nations League at the Centenary Stadium in Malta. The match ended 2-0 in favour of the hosts, with Moldova having also an injured Irina Topal taken off the pitch.
Despite a poor opening three matches, where they registered no points, Moldova had a brighter showing against second-placed Latvia. The team found scoring form and led by 3-1 before two late goals reduced their tally to a point. Probed about the importance of that match in showing improvement in the team, Moldova’s Nicolae Bunea responded, “The match against Latvia showed that our girls can play and can play well. So, we want to continue to show this in the next matches.”
On the other hand, the Maltese contingent has managed to win all four games and so come into the match on red-hot form. Probed about whether she considers Moldova to be more of a threat this time round, Malta’s Manuela Tesse is backing her troops, “Every match has some threat. Moldova have improved during this time for sure, but also Malta.”
Conditions
The location provides cold conditions, with snowfall having disrupted the match preparation in the days leading up to it. Probed about how this affected preparations, Moldova’s Nicolae Bunea said, “Snow affected the preparations leading up to the game because it meant we needed to train on artificial turf instead of natural.”
However, the temperature rise is expected to make the actual match-day more lenient. He continued, “I don’t expect the match to be affected. The temperature should be around 12°C during the match, and this is normal winter weather.”
When probed about how the conditions affected the team preparations and expectations for the match itself, Malta’s Manuela Tesse responded, “Many players never see the snow before and they never played in this type of pitch. It will be crucial to adapt to the field as soon as possible.”
Match Expectations
Moldova are searching to end the commitments on a high, “The girls are very motivated and we want to try to maximise the points from these two matches against Malta and Andorra, to lift ourselves from the bottom of the group.”
He continued, “Malta are the favourites in the group and so we know this will be a tough match, but we want to have a good showing and try to get what we can. Against Andorra we must get the points that we lost at home.”
Likewise Malta’s target remains clear, to win, which this time would come with the added bonus of securing promotion. Probed about whether the team will be approaching this match any differently, Tesse answered in a similar way to previous fixtures, “We have to continue to improve our football and as I said all matches are different. We will assess the conditions of the pitch and then we will plan the strategy.”
The two teams take to the pitch at 15:00 CET, with the match being broadcast on TVM News+, WE Sport and on Youtube. The other match in Group C1 will be a noon-time (CET) kick-off between Latvia and Andorra (Live on TV4).
Lead Images: Lara Schembri
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