Georgia v North Macedonia
23 September 1700hrs
Football – Europe – Nations League
Pick Georgia AH0
Bookmaker bet365
Odds: 1.50 odds taken 0911 GMT, Thursday 22nd September
Friday evening brings us the return of the Nations League and features this upcoming clash in League C/Group 4 between Georgia and North Macedonia at Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi with Georgia looking to further strengthen their position at the top of the group, while North Macedonia will be keen to peg back their hosts and draw level on points at the summit of Group 4.
Table of Contents
Georgia Preview – Can Georgia extend lead at top?
Friday’s hosts, Georgia, will head into this upcoming Group 4 clash against 2nd placed North Macedonia looking to at least avoid defeat and extend their unbeaten start to this new Nations League campaign to five games, which has seen the hosts pick up three wins and a draw to date and with home advantage here, Georgia look in good shape to open up a larger lead at the top of the group.
Georgia already hold a three-point lead over their upcoming visitors thanks to victories over Gibraltar 4-0 at home, a crushing 5-2 win away from home at Bulgaria and a 3-0 win away at Friday’s opponents, North Macedonia, so the hosts will be in confident mood.
In addition, Georgia also picked up what could prove to be a useful point in a 0-0 draw at home with Bulgaria, while the overall bigger picture of previous results and form in the Nations League is an extremely encouraging one for the hosts ahead of Friday night’s tussle in Tbilisi as Georgia have suffered just one defeat from their previous 16 matches overall in this competition.
The one loss was at home to Armenia back in November 2020, but Georgia have also registered four wins in the shape of victories against Latvia, Andorra, Kazakhstan and Gibraltar, so they will be confident about their chances here.
Georgia are expected to be without injured defender, Jemal Tabidze, but otherwise, Georgia coach, Willy Sagnol, will have a fully fit squad to choose from for Friday night’s home fixture.
North Macedonia Preview – Can North Macedonia close the gap?
Friday’s visitors, North Macedonia, will be keen to play catch-up on their hosts as they trail Georgia by a three-point margin which was by way of a heavy 3-0 loss to their upcoming opponents back in mid-June, but Macedonia did record a bounce back win over bottom nation, Gibraltar, in the shape of a 4-0 romp at home against the hapless islanders.
North Macedonia opened their Nations League campaign with a solid point on the road which saw them hold Bulgaria to a 1-1 draw which was followed up with a 2-0 win away at Gibraltar to hand North Macedonia four points from their opening two games, but Georgia have already spoiled their plans of possible promotion and they stand in the way of the visitors again, this time on home soil, on Friday evening.
Results away from home in the Nations League have been fairly average for the visitors as they have collected just three wins out of their previous eight outings on the road in this competition with wins against Gibraltar (twice) and Liechtenstein – but they’ve also suffered losses at Armenia twice as well.
North Macedonia are expected to be without their captain, Stefan Ristovski, along with Churlinov and Ethemi also pulling out due to injuries, while Rakip and goalkeeper Iliev are also sidelined with injuries and will miss out here.
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Georgia v North Macedonia
Key Facts – Georgia v North Macedonia Tip
- Georgia have suffered just 1 defeat from their previous 16 matches overall in the NL
- Georgia have lost just 1 of their last 7 home games in the Nations League
- North Macedonia have collected just 3 wins out of their previous 8 away outings in NL
Georgia have already had the upper hand over visitors, North Macedonia, and with home advantage behind them, Georgia look very capable of at least grinding out a draw here which would be enough for them to earn promotion up to League B next term.
The hosts have produced some solid defensive displays during the group phase and along with their free-goalscoring prowess this term, Georgia look to be an emerging force in Eastern Europe and should be too strong for an injury-hit North Macedonia outfit on Friday night.
The best betting odds for Georgia v North Macedonia
Georgia to win: 2.05 at bet365
Draw: 3.20 at bet365
N Macedonia to win: 3.60 at bet365
