Preview: Gibraltar vs. Georgia - prediction, team news, lineups

Georgia, six points clear of second-placed North Macedonia, will be promoted to League B, whereas Gibraltar will be going into play-outs in March 2024 to determine whether they will be relegated to League D or not.

Match preview

A 5-1 loss to Bulgaria on Friday ensured that Gibraltar would finish last in this group, only picking up one point so far, conceding 16 goals and only scoring two.

The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 4-0 defeat for Los Llanis in June, at the start of this Nations League cycle.

It was always going to be challenging for the side ranked 200th in the FIFA rankings, and a point against Bulgaria will be a highlight which they can at least look to build on going into the next campaign, whether that is in League C or League D.

Without a win since October 2020 against Liechtenstein, Julio Cesar Ribas's side will be looking for a positive performance to finish this group, before their next game in the Nations League next year.

Georgia, on the other hand, have had a really successful Nations League phase. Finishing top of the group has not only gained them promotion to League B for the next campaign but has also secured Willy Sagnol's side at least a playoff place for qualification to Euro 2024.

The star of the Georgian side - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - will now be a well-known name to fans of European club football having made quite the impact in both Serie A and the Champions League, scoring four goals domestically for Napoli and being one of the stars of the Neapolitan's impressive performance against Liverpool in the Champions League.

For his country, he has scored four goals and created two in this stage of the Nations League, including a goal against North Macedonia in their last game, which ended in a 2-0 victory.

The Crusaders have also been hard to break down defensively, with Davit Khocholava and Guram Kashia proving integral parts of a defence that has kept three consecutive clean sheets in the competition.

Georgia will be hoping that this Nations League experience will help them in Euro 2024 qualification next year.

Even if they do not qualify from their group, they will have a chance in the play-offs, a stage where they agonisingly fell short of qualification for Euro 2020, losing in their path final against North Macedonia.

Gibraltar Nations League form:

L

L

D

L

L

Gibraltar form (all competitions):

D

L

L

D

L

L

Georgia Nations League form:

W

W

W

D

W

Georgia form (all competitions):

D

W

W

W

D

W

Team News

Gibraltar have lined up in a 4-3-3 in four of their five Nations League games so far.

Bernardo Lopes and Scott Wiseman have played every minute so far in this campaign, so would be expected to start again in this game, although with nothing to play for there may be an opportunity to experiment with a different lineup.

Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Charles Pozo made his debut for Gibraltar in this competition but has only appeared briefly off the bench. A game like this may be an opportunity to help blood young talent.

Throughout the Nations League, Georgia have played a three-at-the-back formation - a lineup which has been very settled, although there may be some rotation as there is nothing on the line for Willy Sagnol's side.

If captain Guram Kashia plays, it will be his 100th cap for his country, becoming the third to reach this milestone for Georgia.

Sagnol could take this opportunity to experiment with a new formation, although the only previous time he has tried a 4-4-2 formation in this Nations League campaign resulted in their only defeat of the group so far, at home to Bulgaria.

Gibraltar possible starting lineup:

Coleing; Chipolina, Lopes, Sergeant, Wiseman; Valarino, Torilla, Walker; Pozo, Casciaro, Ronan

Georgia possible starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Khocholava, Kashia, Kvirkvelia; Tsitaishvili, Kvekveskiri, Aburjania, Kakabadze; Kvaratskhelia, Zivzivadze, Davitashvili

We say: Gibraltar 0-3 Georgia

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