Slovenia vs Cyprus 4 June 2026 Prediction

Slovenia are hoping Benjamin Sesko can help the national team reach a higher level. However, the Manchester United forward has once again skipped the national team camp. Could a more motivated striker perform better against Cyprus?

Another Controversy Around Sesko

Slovenia missed out on the 2026 World Cup. The team failed to win a single match in its qualifying group, although it did draw four games. The Balkan side had enough quality to hold Switzerland to a 0-0 draw and limit its opponent to only 0.67 xG. In one of its two spring friendlies, Slovenia then beat Montenegro 3-2, but did so without its main attacking player.

Benjamin Sesko has also been left out of the squad for the upcoming matches. Slovenia manager Bostjan Cesar accused the forward of pretending to be unavailable and not wanting to play for the national team. Sesko’s place will be taken by Zan Vipotnik, who scored twice against Montenegro.

Cyprus Begin Preparing for the Nations League

Cyprus, as expected, did not qualify for the 2026 World Cup and managed to beat only San Marino in its qualifying group, winning 2-0 and 4-0. The next stage for the national team will be the Nations League, so the coaching staff will continue to use friendlies to look for the best combinations. More changes are expected during the summer camp. The team will be without center back Nikolas Panayiotou.

Evagoras Antoniou is the most likely replacement for the injured defender. The rest of Cyprus’ strongest players are available, including Charalampos Charalampous, who scored twice in the 3-2 friendly win over Andorra. Two other central midfielders, Charalampos Kyriakou and Grigoris Kastanos, are also ready to play. 

Slovenia vs Cyprus Predicted Lineup

Slovenia (4-2-3-1): Oblak – Ratnik, Bijol, Drkusic, Urbancic – Karnicnik, Gnezda – Begic, Svetlin, Matko – Vipotnik 

Out: Sesko (injury)

Manager: Bostjan Cesar

Cyprus (4-3-3): Paraskevas – Satsias, Andreou, Antoniou, Correia – Charalampous, Kyriakou, Kastanos – Loizou, Pittas, Kakoullis

Out: Panayiotou (injury)

Manager: Apostolos Mantzios

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Slovenia vs Cyprus Prediction: Slovenia -1.5 Handicap at 2.29

• Main prediction: Does Sesko’s absence make Slovenia weaker? Not necessarily, because a player who is not fully committed can affect the team atmosphere. Against Cyprus, Slovenia will have a more motivated Zan Vipotnik, who should be ready to give maximum effort. Slovenia are also a settled team and have not had many wins lately, so even in a friendly they should be focused on getting a positive result. Jan Oblak is likely to start in goal, which should give the team more confidence. Cyprus, meanwhile, are still trying to find the right setup. The visitors are missing an important defender and will arrive in Ljubljana late in the evening on June 2, leaving little time to adapt, which could affect their physical condition. Considering these factors, along with home-field advantage, we are backing Slovenia -1.5 handicap at 2.29. 
• Goals prediction: In addition to Jan Oblak, Slovenia have called up experienced defender David Brekalo, who can strengthen the back line either from the start or off the bench. Given Cyprus’ limited attacking quality, the fact that they recently failed to break down Belarus, and Slovenia’s ability to keep clean sheets even against Switzerland, we like both teams to score — no at 1.60.