BOYLE Sports Blog | Northern Ireland vs Slovakia Prediction, Betting…

Northern Ireland will look to make the most of home advantage over the next week as they continue their bid to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986, with the match set for October 10, 2025.

Michael O’Neill’s side play host to surprise Group A leaders Slovakia on Friday before welcoming top seeds Germany to Belfast on Monday.

Slovakia have six points from two games, while Northern Ireland and Germany are locked on three each, with Luxembourg propping up the four-nation group after losing their opening two fixtures.

Neither Northern Ireland nor Slovakia have been prolific goalscorers down the years, so we think a low-scoring draw could be on the cards. 15/8 for the points to be shared or 23/10 for a draw with under 2.5 goals in total are our initial Northern Ireland vs Slovakia predictions.

19/10

● LIVE ODDS Draw Match Betting

Northern Ireland vs Slovakia Betting Odds

Result	Odds	Chance
Northern Ireland	8/5	38.5%
Slovakia	9/5	35.7%
Draw	19/10	34.5%

*Odds are correct at the time of writing, but subject to change.

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Head to Head

The two countries have faced each other five times previously, with Slovakia holding the upper hand.

Northern Ireland won the first meeting between the two in 1998, Steve Lomas netting the only goal, but the four encounters since then have resulted in three Slovakia victories and a goalless draw.

The most recent game came five years ago, when Northern Ireland’s dreams of reaching Euro 2020 were ended by a 2-1 extra-time loss in their play-off final at Windsor Park.

23/10

● LIVE ODDS Draw/Under 2.5 Match Result And Total Goals O/U 2.5

Northern Ireland Form

Northern Ireland kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-1 win away to Luxembourg before suffering a 3-1 loss to Germany in Cologne.

They made it hard for Julian Nagelsmann’s group favourites, though, with the score locked at 1-1 before Germany struck twice in quick succession around the 70-minute mark to settle the clash.

Northern Ireland will now look to build on that solid start as they return to a sold-out Windsor Park for a double-header against their two main group rivals.

O’Neill’s team are unbeaten in their last six matches in Belfast and the manager said: “Playing in front of our home fans is always something special and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

If you fancy a Northern Ireland victory you can get odds of 7/5 , while Isaac Price, who has struck in four of his country's six games in 2025, is 10/3 to get on the scoresheet at any time .

3/1

● LIVE ODDS Isaac Price Anytime Goalscorer

Slovakia Form

Slovakia top the group with a maximum six-point haul from their opening two games, although the manner in which they picked up those two wins could hardly be more different.

In their opener Francesco Calzona's men became only the fourth team ever to win a World Cup qualifier against Germany after stunning the four-time champions 2-0 in Bratislava thanks to goals from David Hancko and David Strelec.

But in their second Group A outing they only just scraped a 1-0 win over a Luxembourg team ranked 96th in the world, with Tomos Rigo’s stoppage-time effort the difference.

Prior to their World Cup qualifying campaign, Slovakia had suffered three successive away defeats at the hands of Slovenia, Greece and Israel, and had failed to win any of their four matches in 2025, but if you think they will claim the spoils in Belfast you can get 2/1 for an away win .