Georgia v Wales: What you need to know as Welsh face huge World Cup qualifier

Already-eliminated Georgia host Wales in the penultimate game of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. Victory for the visitors could secure second place in Group D depending on how the Republic of Ireland fare against Moldova. Unibet assess what the stats suggest will happen in Georgia.

Wales have lost three of their four previous meetings with Georgia
Georgia recorded three successive victories over Wales before the 1-1 friendly draw in Cardiff last year. In the first meeting between the nations in November 1994, Georgia won 5-0 at home in a Euro 1996 qualifier. Seven months later, they won the reverse fixture 1-0 back in Wales. After that, the Dragons had to wait 13 years to score their first goal against Georgia, who ran out 2-1 winners in an August 2008 friendly in Cardiff. Jason Koumas was the Welsh goalscorer that day; he and Gareth Bale remain the only players to score for Wales against Georgia.

The injured Gareth Bale is yet to score for Wales in 2017 (3 games)
 Wales’ talisman Bale scored seven goals in 11 international appearances in 2016, but is yet to find the net in three matches for his country this year. That won’t change anytime soon with the Real Madrid attacker set to miss up to a month of action due to a calf injury. Bale is only two goals short of equalling Ian Rush’s goalscoring record for Wales (28) - he’ll have to put off that particular mission until the next international break. Instead, the Dragons may have to rely on Aaron Ramsey; the Arsenal midfielder has scored two of Wales’ last four goals.

Wales have lost only one of their last 20 qualifying games
With 10 wins, nine draws and just one defeat in their last 20 qualifying matches (both World Cup and European Championships), Wales will be confident they can avoid yet another loss to Georgia this time around. That solitary defeat came in Euro 2016 qualifying against Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2015. Since then, Chris Coleman’s side have won four and drawn five of their nine qualifying games. Wales and table-toppers Serbia are the only unbeaten nations in Group D going in the ninth matchday.

Georgia have recorded just one victory in their last 30 World Cup qualifiers
The hosts (D5 L3) and bottom-of-the-table Moldova (D2 L6) are the only sides in Group D without a win. Georgia have lost 17 of their last 30 World Cup qualifying games, drawing 12 and winning only one. That solitary victory came in the form of a 1-0 home win over Belarus in September 2012. Since then, Georgia have drawn seven and lost eight of their last 15 World Cup qualifiers, including draws in their last three. 

Wales have won only one of their last seven matches on the road
The 2-0 win in Moldova last month was Wales’ only away victory in seven games, drawing three and losing three of the remaining six. That said, they are unbeaten in five World Cup qualifiers on the road. The Dragons will be aiming to keep it tight in Georgia, something they’ve been successful at of late: Coleman’s men have kept three clean sheets in their last four matches at home and away, conceding only one goal across those four fixtures (v Serbia). Meanwhile, Georgia have kept just two clean sheets in their last 12 games.