Montenegro vs Finland prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2022-09-25 18:45.
Miodrag Radulović insists Montenegro will have had a successful UEFA Nations League (UNL) campaign if they finish as runners-up in Group B3. Their hopes of being promoted to the top tier were ended by a 1-0 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday, but victory in their final game will guarantee second place, a position the manager says “we would have accepted” before the competition got under way.
The Brave Falcons can draw confidence from playing on home soil, which they have turned into a fortress of late, losing just four of their last 16 matches (W6, D6). They may, however, find their work cut out against a Finland side with much more to play for, and against whom they suffered a 2-0 defeat in their only previous meeting earlier on in the tournament.
That victory proved to be a high point for Markku Kanerva’s Finland, who are winless since that clash (D1, L2). They occupy third spot in the group and with Romania just a point behind, only a win will guarantee their place in the second tier after a 1-1 draw with the bottom-placed side on Friday, but equally a victory will see them overtake Montenegro, something the manager says “we want to achieve.”
The Eagle-owls are having their struggles away from home though, suffering three successive UNL defeats on the road. Indeed, they have picked up just two victories in their last nine on their international travels (D1, L6), conceding at least two goals in five of those losses and managing only one clean sheet in the process.
Players to watch: Montenegro striker Stefan Mugosa is eying the UNL golden boot award, or at least a share of it, after netting four times in five matches, leaving him two goals behind Norway’s Erling Haaland. Meanwhile Finland’s all-time leading scorer Teemu Pukki has netted six of his eight UNL goals in the first half, including in the 1-1 in the last round vs Romania.
Hot stat: Montenegro have only scored a first-half goal in four of their last 17 UNL appearances.