Ahead of their World Cup Qualifiers next week, in-form Poland and struggling Moldova are set to clash at Silesian Stadium on Friday.
Orly will be looking to make it three wins on the bounce, while Tricolorii will be hoping to earn their first victory in four games.
Match preview
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Michal Probierz's Poland have made a strong start to life in Group G, as they recovered from a five-game winless streak to take maximum points in both of their first two qualifying matches.
Back in late March, Orly beat Lithuania and Malta 1-0 and 2-0 respectively, and the manager will be delighted with the fact that his team kept consecutive clean sheets, especially considering that they had not prevented their opposition from scoring since a 1-0 win over Wales 12 months prior.
Those victories have Probierz's side top of their group as matchday three approaches, two points ahead of second-placed Finland and three in front of third-placed Lithuania.
Looking to keep up their momentum before returning to competitive action, the hosts will draw confidence from the fact that they have won their last two games at Silesian Stadium, though they did lose four of the previous five as the nominal home team.
A third straight triumph would give Poland a mental boost and prove that their victories during the most recent international break were not simply a one-off, but a sign of genuine improvement before the World Cup next year.
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Contrastingly, Serghei Clescenco's Moldova lost their first two group stage clashes as they dream of making the 2026 competition, and they now have just one win from their last five across all competitions.
Tricolorii ended 2024 by beating Andorra 1-0 in the Nations League and then drawing with Gibraltar, but they opened this year's international circuit with a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Norway before narrowly losing 3-2 against Estonia.
Those defeats have dumped Clescenco's men at the foot of Group I with zero points and a minus six goal difference, and partial blame rests at the feet of Maxim Cojocaru, who was sent off against Sinisargid with just five minutes on the clock.
Regardless, this week's visitors have performed marginally better on the road than on their own turf in recent times, and with just one loss marring their travelling record since 2023, they will harbour some hope of achieving a positive result in Poland.
A first victory of 2025 for Moldova could give their World Cup qualification campaign a boost even if it were to come in a friendly, given that it may inspire them for their clash against Italy on June 9.
Team News
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Poland will be without talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski as he pulled out of the squad citing fatigue concerns following a 52-game season for Barcelona, so expect Karol Swiderski and Krzysztof Piatek to feature up top on Friday.
Winger Kamil Grosicki will make one final appearance as he is set to retire from the national team, though Przemyslaw Frankowski and Jakob Kaminski should start.
Elsewhere, with centre-back Kamil Piatkowski out of the squad, Mateusz Wieteska will start alongside Jan Bednarek and Jakub Kiwior in Probierz's back three.
As for Moldova, Maxim Cojocaru is unavailable for next week's clash against Italy, and Ioan-Calin Revenco could start at right-back as he prepares for the Group I match.
In attack, striker Ion Nicolaescu is likely to be backed up by Mihail Caimacov from an attacking midfield position, while Virgiliu Postolachi and Stefan Bodisteanu provide support from out wide.
Poland possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Wieteska, Bednarek, Kiwior; Moder; Frankowski, Szymanski, Bogusz, Kaminski; Swiderski, Piatek
Moldova possible starting lineup:
Koshukhar; Revenco, Craciun, Baboglo, Reabciuk; Motpan, Rata; Postolachi, Caimacov, Bodisteanu; Nicolaescu
We say: Poland 2-1 Moldova
Poland seem to have turned a corner after back-to-back wins in the last international break, and they will be confident of making it three in a row this week.
That being said, Moldova have lost just one of their last four on the road, and they will be keen to prepare well for their group game next week.
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