Iceland will host North Macedonia on Sunday at the Laugardalsvollur in their next World Cup 2022 qualifying match as Group J continues with the fifth round of games.
Neither side was able to record a victory at the start of this international break and with both teams currently sitting outside of the top two positions, the need for a victory is high.
Match preview
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Iceland competed against Romania on Thursday and despite having the edge in terms of possession, they were unable to turn that into a positive result as they were defeated 2-0.
Goals from Dennis Man and Nicolae Stanciu in the second half were enough to finish the game, with the home side only managing three shots on target.
The result put Iceland six points behind second-placed Germany, and seven behind Armenia, who currently sit at the top of Group J in the only automatic qualification spot.
Arnar Vidarsson's squad have now gone two games in a row without picking up a win, but more worryingly they have now failed to score in three out of their four qualification matches.
The nation will need a better result than the last time the two teams met, which was back in 2009, as North Macedonia earned a 2-0 victory that night.
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However, when they last collided in the Laugardalsvollur one year prior, it was Iceland who picked up the win with a Veigar Gunnarsson goal being enough to settle the difference.
Even though North Macedonia currently sit third in the group, just two points behind Germany, the team actually head into this fixture on a four-game run without a win.
The nation had a difficult time during Euro 2020 as they suffered defeats in every game, crashing out at the group stage as they conceded eight goals in the process.
Although, they have bounced back well with their most recent fixture in midweek, as Blagoja Milevski's men were able to take a point from Armenia in a goalless draw.
The clean sheet was a welcomed improvement from a defensive point of view and after tasting their first-ever major tournament this summer, they will be keen to qualify for another.
North Macedonia might have started the qualifying group with a defeat, but the Lions have responded well ever since, defeating Liechtenstein 5-0 as well as beating Germany 2-1, with Iceland now in their sights.
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Team News
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Vidar Kjartansson was preferred to Andri Gudjohnsen as the lead striker against Romania, however, the young Icelandic forward did feature from the bench on Thursday, which could see him work into the starting lineup against the Lions.
After securing a clean sheet against Armenia, there will likely be no defensive changes made by Milevski for Sunday's fixture, with Ezgjan Alioski being an attacking threat from the back as well.
Milan Ristovski was used as a substitute on Thursday, proving that North Macedonia have options alongside Adis Jahovic in terms of who will lead the line.
Meanwhile, in the central defensive midfield role, there will likely be another start for Enis Bardhi who can provide plenty of cover for the back four behind him.
Iceland possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Saevarsson, Hermannsson, Bjarnason, Thorarinsson; Bjarnason, Palsson, Baldursson; Gudmundsson, Kjartansson, Gudmundsson
North Macedonia possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Alioski, Musliu, Ristovski, Velkovski; Bardhi, Churlinov, Elmas, Kostadinov, Trajkovski; Jahovic
We say: Iceland 0-2 North Macedonia
Iceland have been seriously struggling as of late and seem to be short on answers in terms of how to solve their problems, falling further behind the rest of the pack with each group game.
Taking on a well-structured North Macedonia team is not going to be easy for Vidarsson's men, and because of that, it is hard to see how they will manage to get a result.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a North Macedonia win with a probability of 39.35%. A win for Iceland had a probability of 38.74% and a draw had a probability of 21.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a North Macedonia win was 1-2 with a probability of 7.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (4.91%) and 1-3 (4.83%). The likeliest Iceland win was 2-1 (7.92%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (8.82%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood.
