Locked together at the top of League C Group 1 with two games to play, Sweden and Slovakia will battle it out to take the outright lead when they meet on Saturday evening.

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Competing in Europe's third tier for the first time, after suffering back-to-back relegations in previous Nations League campaigns, Sweden have proved to be a cut above most opponents so far.

With three wins from four and an average of nearly three goals per game, the Blagult's bid to win promotion back to League B is firmly on track, having added four points to their total in October.

Jon Dahl Tomasson's side had started by posting a 3-1 win in Azerbaijan and a 3-0 home victory over Estonia, with the latter secured by goals from top-class strike duo Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.

However, last month, the Swedes' charge was temporarily halted by Slovakia, who fought back from two down to steal a point in Bratislava thanks to a David Strelec brace.

A subsequent 3-0 win in Estonia, where the prolific Gyokeres was on target again, left Sweden top of Group 1 due to their superior goal difference compared to Slovakia.

Therefore, they can afford to draw this weekend and still secure top spot by beating Azerbaijan on Tuesday, in the second of back-to-back home fixtures.

Slovakia join Sweden on the 10-point mark after four matches, so they can also claim automatic promotion to League B with one game to spare by taking maximum points on Saturday.

That would ensure a better head-to-head record - which will be the determining factor in separating sides that have ended level on points - even if they then slipped up at home to Estonia.

Either way, at least a playoff place is already wrapped up, following two wins over Azerbaijan, victory against the Estonians and last month's draw with Sweden.

Like their closest rivals in Group 1, the Falcons seem ill-suited to League C, having recently reached the last 16 at Euro 2024, where they came within a whisker of beating England to make the quarter-finals.

Slovakia have won six and lost three of 12 games played so far this year, beating Belgium and Wales along the way, so a trip to Solna will hold few fears for Francesco Calzona's men.

Sweden possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Lindelof, Hien, Gudmundsson; Eliasson, Karlstrom, Saletros, Sema; Kulusevski; Isak, Gyokeres

Slovakia possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Pekarik, Skriniar, Obert, Hancko; Duda, Lobotka, Benes; Suslov, Strelec, Schranz