North Macedonia v Bulgaria
26 September 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Nations League
Pick North Macedonia AH-0.25
Bookmaker bet365
Odds: 1.63 odds taken 1224 GMT, Sunday 25th September
Monday evening brings us further action from the Nations League and features this upcoming clash in League C/Group 4 between 2nd placed North Macedonia, and their 3rd placed visitors, Bulgaria, at the Toše Proeski Arena in Skopje with North Macedonia looking to bounce back from defeat last time out, while Bulgaria will be seeking a runners-up place, but neither nation have a chance of making the finals stage.
Table of Contents
North Macedonia Preview – Can North Macedonia make most of home advantage?
North Macedonia have produced a reasonable Nations League campaign this season as the hosts currently sit in 2nd place in Group 4 but they find themselves a significant six points behind the group leaders, Georgia, who are far and away ahead of the rest of the group with just one fixture remaining in the group phase.
North Macedonia have picked up home and away wins against the bottom placed minnows, Gibraltar, with 2-0 and 4-0 victories respectively, while also picking up a point in a 1-1 draw away from home against Monday’s visitors, Bulgaria, but it was the two defeats against Georgia which have proved to be decisive in determining the winners of this group.
The bigger picture though has shown that North Macedonia have made steady improvement on the European stage as the hosts have lost just three of their previous 13 matches overall in the Nations League competition, two of which were inflicted upon them away from home, while on home soil, the hosts have lost just one of their last eight home games.
Even more impressive is the fact that North Macedonia have collected a total of six wins in the process during their games at home in this competition which also includes scoring 2 goals or more in six of these eight games, so the hosts will be in confident mood ahead of this upcoming clash which they’ll fancy their chances of securing all three points here.
North Macedonia coach, Blagoja Milevski, will be without injured quartet, Stefan Ristovski, Arijan Ademi, Darko Churlinov and Valon Ethemi, who all missed the trip to Georgia due to injuries.
Bulgaria Preview – Can Bulgaria build on welcome win?
Bulgaria recorded a welcome three points last time out in the Nations League when they registered a convincing 5-1 home win over hapless minnows, Gibraltar, but the visitors still remain in 3rd place despite that landslide win and a point behind their Monday night’s hosts, North Macedonia, ahead of this Group 4 encounter at the Toše Proeski Arena.
Bulgaria coach, Mladen Krstajic, made an excellent start to his tenure of the Bulgarian national side with that win against Gibraltar which ended a miserable run of eight games without a win in all competitions, while the visitors had also failed to win any of their last 13 matches in the Nations League competition, so there’s still plenty of work ahead for the Bulgarians.
In addition, Bulgaria have managed to register just one win on the road in their previous eight outings on their travels in this format, which was gained with a narrow 2-1 win at Slovenia back in September 2018, but since then, Bulgaria have gone their seven subsequent away games without a win.
Having also kept just two clean sheets in these last eight away games, Bulgaria face a tough task of keeping their free-scoring counterparts, North Macedonia, quiet here on Monday night and this could be a determining factor in the outcome of this clash.
Manager, Mladen Krstajic, is expected to stick with the same starting eleven as that which put Gibraltar to the sword last time out.
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North Macedonia v Bulgaria
Key Facts – North Macedonia v Bulgaria Tip
- North Macedonia have lost just 1 of their last 8 home games (W6)
- North Macedonia have scored 2 goals or more in 6 of these 8 games
- Bulgaria have managed to register just 1 win on the road in their previous 8 away outings
North Macedonia appear to hold a slight edge over Bulgaria ahead of this upcoming encounter on Monday night having lost just once at home overall in the Nations League, and with home advantage again at the Toše Proeski Arena, the hosts look set to finish above their visitors in Group 4.
The best betting odds for North Macedonia v Bulgaria
N Macedonia to win: 1.80 at bet365
Draw: 3.40 at bet365
Bulgaria to win: 4.33 at bet365
