Northern Ireland welcomes Bulgaria in another match from the Nations League. In this video, we will try to decipher what will happen in the match at "Windsor Park". Both teams enter the match not in the best mood after the results in previous matches. Bulgaria made a goalless draw against Luxembourg in Plovdiv, surely leaving a bitter taste for the "Tricolors". On the other hand, it can be argued that there were not many football qualities in the match and the draw was justified.
Northern Ireland went empty-handed in their visit to Belarus, who play their matches on neutral ground in Hungary. Everyone on the island was united in the belief that three points are mandatory in order to look ahead to the dream of promotion to League B. Michael O'Neill's men failed to cope, after seeing two of their goals canceled out in the first half. They have not scored in 8 out of their 19 matches in the Nations League.
The group as a whole is not very high-scoring. Looking at Ilian Iliev's selection, it is worth noting the stability in defense. Our team has conceded only two goals in 2024 and has not allowed a goal in the Nations League yet. The two teams have already met at the "Hristo Botev" stadium, where Kiril Despodov secured the victory. "The Lions" are aiming for 4 consecutive clean sheets, something that has not happened since 2007.
Northern Ireland will certainly try to stop their negative trend against Bulgaria, as over the years the islanders have not had much reason for joy in these duels. The focus should be on Bulgaria's strong defense. It can be said that our team is difficult to beat. The match could be decisive for the final outcome in the group.
Here we advise to look for few goals - the line under 2.5 goals more specifically. It seems unlikely to see more than two goals in the duel. Considering the statistics, it doesn't seem like the Bulgarians will be able to score in the second half. It seems that the pace slows down in the second halves. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, starts quite sluggishly in their matches, so one can look at the option for the hosts not to score in the first half. It seems like an excellent combination. My personal opinion is, that the duel will end in a draw - 1:1, let's say. Everything in this group will probably be decided in the final matches.
This text is an AI-assisted translation in English. Link to the original source in Bulgarian ➔
Since 1979, Northern Ireland has not defeated Bulgaria, and now lost 0:1 as a guest a month ago on Bulgarian soil. However, there is a chance for revenge at home, where they have been performing well recently. They have won their last three home games by 2:0, one of which was against Luxembourg in September.
Will Bulgaria remain unbeaten again?Bulgaria has not suffered a defeat in 9 consecutive matches under the leadership of Iliyan Iliev. However, 7 of them ended in a draw. The reason for this is also the poor performance, and against Luxembourg on Saturday, they were practically lacking in opportunities. Now in attack, the suspended Alexander Kolev will be missing. Two more players received yellow cards, as the referee was not lenient against Luxembourg and showed the yellow card a total of 11 times in the match. In defense, the suspended players will be Aleks Petkov and Fabian Nurnberger.
Prediction: under 2.5 goalsNorthern Ireland performs decently at home, but even if they manage to win, it is unlikely to be with many goals. Both teams are not very effective in scoring, as was evident in Bulgaria's recent matches. There really are no prerequisites for a high-scoring match in Belfast.
This text is an AI-assisted translation in English. Link to the original source in Bulgarian ➔
