Two sides currently enduring lengthy winless streaks will square off on Tuesday, as Azerbaijan play host to Hungary at Dalga Arena for an international friendly showdown.

The home side have gone nine matches without a victory, while the Magyars have not tasted triumph in their last five games.

Match preview

It takes a trip back to June 2024 to find Azerbaijan's most recent win, a narrow 3-2 result in a friendly against Kazakhstan, secured just a day before Fernando Santos was officially appointed as head coach.

Since that triumoh, Milli komanda have gone nine games without tasting victory, recording seven defeats and two draws across both friendlies and the UEFA Nations League.

Even with the arrival of the experienced Santos, who famously led Portugal to glory in the inaugural edition of Europe's tier-based international competition, the downturn was inevitable.

Azerbaijan picked up just a single point from their six Nations League outings between September and November 2024, resulting in relegation to League D, and the turn of the year has offered little respite.

Santos’s men have featured in three friendlies so far in 2025, suffering defeats against Haiti and Belarus in March, before battling to a goalless stalemate away at Latvia in their most recent outing. 

Both ends of the pitch have proved problematic for Milli komanda, who have conceded 22 goals in those nine matches and failed to score in any of their last five.

Their scoring troubles extend to this fixture as well, with Azerbaijan drawing blanks in five of their seven previous meetings with Hungary.

The Magyars have dominated the head-to-head, winning all seven encounters and conceding just twice, though they arrive in Baku with struggles of their own.

Since recording a 2-0 victory away at Bosnia and Herzegovina in October, Marco Rossi's men have managed just one draw, while losing four, including a 6-1 aggregate defeat to Turkey in the Nations League playoffs. 

That disappointing outcome saw Hungary demoted from the top tier to League B for the 2026-27 campaign, matching Azerbaijan's fall in the competition.

Rossi's side returned to action last Friday for the first time since March, losing 2-0 on thier own turf to Sweden, making it back-to-back games without scoring.

However, they can take comfort from their historical dominance in this fixture, having netted 19 times across their seven previous clashes with Tuesday's opponents.

Hungary's form on the road also raises some concern, with their victory in Bosnia one of only two wins from their last 10 away matches, while they have lost their most recent two.

Azerbaijan International Friendlies form:

Azerbaijan form (all competitions):

Hungary International Friendlies form:

Hungary form (all competitions):

Team News

Head coach Santos opted for a 4-4-2 setup in their previous outing, with Nariman Akhundzade and Mahir Emreli leading the line as the front pairing. 

Following their first clean sheet in four matches, Santos is unlikely to make sweeping changes to his backline, with Rahman Dashdamirov, Elvin Badalov and Bahlul Mustafazada all expected to keep their places.

Dashdamirov earned his first start for the national team in that draw, playing the full 90 minutes after being limited to cameo appearances in his two prior caps.

Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai once again wore the captain's armband for Hungary in Rossi's favoured 3-4-2-1 system, while a notable absentee was Milos Kekez.

Reports suggest the Bournemouth left-back departed camp before the Sweden match amid growing transfer speculation linking him with a move to Merseyside, making him unlikely to feature here as well.

Given the underwhelming display last time out, Rossi is expected to shuffle the deck, with Gabor Szalai, Tamas Nikitscher and Alex Toth among those pushing for starting roles.

Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:

Jafarov; Dashdamirov, Badalov, Mustafazada, Bayramov; Nuriyev, Mahmudov, Abdullazada, Cafarguliyev; Akhundzade, Emreli

Hungary possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; G. Szalai, Orban, Nego; Bolla, Csongvai, Schafer, Nagy; Szobozlai,  R. Sallai; Gazdag

We say: Azerbaijan 0-2 Hungary

Despite both sides entering the clash in poor form, Hungary are well positioned to end their skid, thanks to their overwhelming dominance in this fixture and the fact that their recent run has come largely against higher-ranked opponents.

Currently 37th in the world, the visitors will fancy their chances against an Azerbaijan side sitting 82 places below them in the FIFA standings.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi

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