Bulgaria will welcome Belarus in the UEFA Nations League on Monday night, with both sides still having plenty to fight for as they prepare to take to the field for the final time in Group 3 of League C in the 2024-25 competition.
The home side are currently second in the section, two points behind leaders Northern Ireland, while they are two points ahead of third-placed Belarus, who will have their eye on a promotion playoff spot.
Match preview
© Imago
Bulgaria boast a record of two wins, two draws and one defeat from their five matches in Group 3 of League C, with eight points leaving them second in the table, two points behind leaders Northern Ireland and two ahead of third-placed Belarus.
The Lions picked up five points from their first three matches against Belarus, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, but they then suffered a shock 5-0 loss away to Northern Ireland last month.
There was pressure on Ilian Iliev's side to bounce back against Luxembourg on Friday night, and Andrian Kraev netted the only goal of the match to hand them a 1-0 victory, which moved them into second spot in the group.
Bulgaria can still finish first and claim automatic promotion to League B, but they would need to beat Belarus and then hope that Northern Ireland lose to Luxembourg on the same night.
The hosts have won five, drawn one and lost three of their previous nine games against Belarus, but they have not overcome Monday's opponents since November 2016, with Belarus winning two of their last three encounters.
© Imago
Belarus have won one, drawn three and lost one of their five matches in the section to collect six points, which has left them in third spot in the table, two points behind second-placed Belarus.
A win for them on Monday would see them claim second and a spot in the promotion playoffs, but a draw or a defeat would leave them in third, as Luxembourg are four points behind them at the bottom.
Carlos Ferrer's side drew at home to Northern Ireland and Luxembourg in their two October internationals, but they were beaten 2-0 by Northern Ireland on Friday night, with the result seeing them drop into third spot.
As it stands, Belarus will be remaining in League C for the next Nations League campaign, but they have only lost one of their last five away matches in all competitions, which should hand them confidence heading into Monday's intriguing battle.
Team News
© Imago
Bulgaria have not reported any fitness problems from their clash with Luxembourg on Friday night, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field for the first whistle here.
Aleksandar Kolev is still waiting for his first international goal, but the 31-year-old is expected to retain his spot in the final third of the field, while Filip Krastev is also set to keep his position.
Kiril Despodov is the captain and leading goalscorer in the squad, finding the back of the net on 15 occasions, and the 28-year-old is a certain starter for the home side in this contest.
As for Belarus, head coach Ferrer is once again expected to line his side up in a 5-3-2 formation, and he is likely to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the clash with Northern Ireland.
German Barkovsky is still waiting for his first international goal, but the 22-year-old is expected to continue in the final third of the field on Monday night.
The most experienced member of the squad is 37-year-old Alyaksandr Martynovich, and he is set to win his 79th cap in this contest, while there should be another start in defence for Sergey Politevich.
Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Popov, Petrov, Petkov, Nurnberger; Milanov, Panayotov, Kraev, Despodov; Krastev, Kolev
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Lapoukhov; Pigas, Martynovich, Politevich, Zabelin, Pechenin; Yablonskiy, Selyava, Gromyko; Barkovskiy, Shikavka
We say: Bulgaria 0-0 Belarus
The two teams played out a goalless draw in the reverse match in September, and we can see the same scoreline here, which would be enough for Bulgaria to finish second, while it would mean first for Northern Ireland even if they lose to Luxembourg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
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