Slovenia v Estonia background
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Article summary
Opponents in their respective first games following independence, Slovenia and Estonia will each look to celebrate once more as they come together in Group E.
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Article body
Slovenia will look to end a run of defeats against Estonia as the sides meet again in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group E.
• The Slovenes will be eager to return to third place in the section after their 3-2 reverse in Switzerland on Saturday, combined with Estonia's 1-0 'Baltic derby' home success over Lithuania, consigned them to fourth – one point behind their guests on Tuesday.
• Aleksandr Dmitrijev is suspended after accumulating three bookings. The following players are a yellow card away from a ban: Kevin Kampl (Slovenia) and Sergei Zenjov (Estonia).
Previous meetings
• Ats Purje's late goal secured a 1-0 win for Estonia in the teams' opening Group E game, with Dalibor Stevanović sent off for Slovenia.
• Slovenia's record in eight matches against Estonia is W5 D1 L2 (W3 D0 L1 in Slovenia – W2 D1 L1 in Estonia). However, Estonia have won their last two fixtures against Slovenia.
• The two countries first met in Tallinn on 3 June 1992, in what was Estonia's first game since independence – and Slovenia's first FIFA-recognised fixture (their 1-0 loss to Croatia on 19 June 1991 being regarded as unofficial). Aleksandar Puštov's seventh-minute free-kick put Uno Piir's Estonia in front, but Igor Benedejčič's 73rd-minute header earned Bojan Prašnikar's Slovenia a 1-1 draw.
• Slovenia prevailed 2-0 when the nations met in Ljubljana on 7 April 1993. It was Slovenia's first international victory, at the third attempt, with Samir Zulič and Sašo Udovič on target.
Form guide
• Slovenia had won four competitive home matches in a row before they lost 3-2 to England in their most recent Group E home fixture.
• Srečko Katanec's side were 2-0 up with ten minutes to play in Basel on Saturday, only to succumb to three late Swiss goals including a 94th-minute winner. They had also surrendered a lead and conceded in the closing stages when losing that five-goal thriller to England in June.
• Better news for the hosts in Maribor is that Estonia have failed to score in their three Group E away fixtures to date, including a 0-0 draw in San Marino.
Trivia and links
• Estonia defender Markus Jürgenson turns 28 the day after this game. The match also takes place two days after Slovenia midfielder Andraž Kirm's 31st birthday.
• The countries' clubs have met in eight UEFA competition matches, the Slovenian team winning all of those fixtures.
